


moving along and moving on

by eloquence_and_melancholy



Series: domesticity [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam and Lance are brothers, Attempt at Humor, Birthday, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cemetery, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Lotor will have a cowboy boyfriend because I said so, M/M, Minor Character Death, Single Dad!Lance, Single Parent Lance (Voltron), as in the twins' mom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2019-11-06 07:05:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17935130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquence_and_melancholy/pseuds/eloquence_and_melancholy
Summary: Lance is a single dad and Keith wants to change that.Maximum fluff with minimal angst.





	1. This Was a Home Once

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first work so feedback is appreciated but please be nice im fragile. I'll try my best to make this as original as possible, but there are only so many ways to write single dad lance, so if something resembles another story please let me know so I can fix it :)
> 
> first chapter is more of a prologue/segway into the story. thanks for giving me your time!!!

**Lance; Age 16 - 9 Years Ago**

 

Aliana Martinez. The most beautiful girl Lance had ever known. She had a heart of gold, a stunning personality and god, her eyes, they were the most beautiful hazel he’d ever seen.

 

_Maybe one day, he’d have the guts to ask her out._

 

The two of them ran in the same circles and shared a few classes, but they were by no means close. Not that it mattered anyway, Aliana was dating Rolo.

 

So Lance pined from afar, busying himself with school, hoping that soon enough, this crush would fade.

 

Oh, how naive he’d been. The crush never faded away.

 

It was ridiculous really. He was 16 and stuck pining over some girl. Then again, she wasn’t just some girl.

 

“How was your day Lance?” Aliana asked, smiling as she tucked away a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The sun was hitting her at just the right angle, making the brown strands look almost hazel.

 

“Besides walking in on my best friends making pentagram pancakes this morning, pretty good”

 

She let out a laugh. It sounded like heaven. “That’s such a Pidge and Hunk thing to do, combining both of their favourite things”

 

“They’re odd, but hey, you grow up with them and you get used to their antics” Lance shrugged. Pidge and Hunk had been his best friends since preschool.

 

“They seem sweet. Maybe you should invite them out with us the next time we all go out” she suggested.

 

And Lance found himself falling even further. Because his and Aliana’s shared friend group wasn’t filled with the most accepting people. Anyone else in the group would’ve laughed at Pidge and Hunk, as people tended to do. Pidge...she was too different, too young, too smart, too exuberant for them. And Hunk? Well, he was dark skinned with two moms, which gave the others more than enough ammunition against him.

 

The only reason they didn’t pick on Lance too was that he was charismatic. Carefully calculated smiles, false words uttered in hopes of buttering them up, all of it just a ruse to make an insecure Cuban boy feel like he finally belonged.

 

If they ever found out the truth, discovered that Lance hated them just as much as they thought he loved them? Well, for a lack of a better word, he’d be fucked.

 

So no, of course, his ‘friends’ wouldn’t even give Hunk and Pidge the time of day, but Aliana? She was willing to give them a chance.

 

“Yeah, maybe” Lance’s lips quirked up as he nodded.

 

Aliana stood up from the bench and smoothed down her pale pink skirt. “Rolo just finished soccer practice, I should get going. He’s taking me out for dinner”

 

“Have fun” Lance said. His face gave away nothing but his heart was hurting. Aliana was amazing, she deserved nothing less than the world, but Lance knew she wasn’t getting that, not with Rolo; the way he talked about her at times made Lance’s skin crawl.

 

“Y’know, we should hang out more Lance” she added as she started walking away. It took a few seconds for the statement to register, and a few more seconds for Lance to act on it.

 

“Lia!” He called after her. The brunette twirled around and he worked up the courage to ask, “My friends and I are going to a party next weekend—do you, uh, wanna come?”

 

A breathtaking grin bloomed on her face and Lance thought he might die right then and there.

 

“Sure, I’ll text you later” she winked.

 

Lance could feel his cheeks warm, something that only ever happened around Aliana. “Bye Lia”

 

“Bye Lance!”

 

The following week passed by fairly quickly considering Lance was counting down the days until Friday. Because on Friday, he was going out with Aliana.

 

It wasn’t a date. Aliana already had Rolo and Lance didn’t think it was his place to come between them. Not to mention it was just a stupid high school party they were going to. But he adored Aliana, and if that meant they could only be friends, then so be it. Lance would be the best damn friend she could have, after all, that’s what she deserved.

 

Friday after school, Lance found himself at Allura’s house, butterflies attacking his stomach.

 

“You need to chill out,” Pidge said.

 

“She’s so perfect Pidge, you don’t understand” Lance whined.

 

“First, I had to listen to Romelle whine about Allura, now I have to listen to you—will I ever catch a break?” Pidge grumbled.

 

“I did not whine about Allura!” Romelle squawked.

 

“She’s so tall and pretty and strong and sweet—did I mention she’s in university already—I’d let her step on me and even then I’d probably thank her” Pidge mocked in a high-pitched voice.

 

“You’d thank me....for stepping on you?” Allura asked. Romelle ducked down, shooting Pidge an embarrassed glare.

 

“That’s enough about me, back to Lance and his pining” Romelle snapped.

 

“There’s nothing else to say, I mean, she’s not interested. We’re friends and nothing more” Lance shrugged.

 

“Hey, at least you’re hotter than Rolo” Adam pointed out.

 

Lance snorted. “Lia doesn’t care about that sorta stuff, not really”

 

“Frankly, she seems like she’s way out of any high school boy’s league so I wouldn’t take it personally if I were you,” Allura said.

 

“Just relax tonight, try to have fun okay?” Hunk asked.

 

“Yeah, okay” He nodded “Everything will be fine”

 

Turns out everything would not be fine, because when Aliana arrived at the house 10 minutes later, Lance was left spluttering.

 

“You look— _wow”_ Lance fumbled his words. She was wearing a velvety red slip dress, showing off her figure. Her hair was pinned up and her lips were glossed. He was speechless, because how could one person be that beautiful.

 

Aliana giggled. “Thanks. You look _wow_ too”

 

“Ah, young love” Adam snorted.

 

“Not like you would know” Lance retorted.

 

“Excuse me?” Adam exclaimed “I’ll have you know that I-”

 

“You’re spending your Friday night with your little brother and his friends. I don’t think whatever you were about to say was true” Aliana interjected.

 

“Did she really just-” Adam spluttered.

 

 _“Oh my god,”_ Pidge wheezed.

 

“This girl’s been a part of our group for less than a minute and she already dragged Adam, can we keep her?” Romelle laughed.

 

“I want to laugh, but I think she also dragged me” Allura pouted.

 

“To be fair, Romelle’s your girlfriend, so it makes sense to spend your Friday night with her” Hunk pointed out.

 

Allura smiled in delight. “Oh good, so I can still laugh at Adam”

 

“This is mutiny” Adam grumbled.

 

“Does anyone need anything before we go?” Romelle asked.

 

“Can I get a snack? I haven’t eaten much yet” Aliana said with a lighthearted smile.

 

“Oh, yeah, follow me!” Romelle beckons her to follow him and the two headed off to the kitchen.

 

“I like her Lance” Pidge grinned as soon as she was out of hearing range “She fits right in”

 

“I like her too” Lance wistfully sighed.

 

“So why don’t you ask her out?”

 

“She’s got a boyfriend already Pidge” Lance reminded him “It’ll never happen between us. But that’s okay, being her friend is just as good”

 

“That’s mature of you Lance” Allura smiled.

 

“And to think, it was only a few years ago when you would burp out the alphabet in order to assert your dominance” Adam snorted.

 

“I can’t believe I used to do that” Lance shook his head.

 

“I mean, it worked didn’t it?”

 

“You should have stopped me”

 

“What, like when you ‘stopped’ me from getting a bowl cut in middle school?”

 

“That was different”

 

“How?”

 

“The bowl cut was funny, my burping was the reason why Jenny didn’t go to the dance with me”

 

“Yeah, well I don’t think the bowl cut was funny. I had to burn all my pictures from middle school”

 

The two bickered until Aliana and Romelle returned, the former carrying a green plastic bowl of Froot Loops.

 

“Are we all ready to go?” Allura asked.

 

“I’ve got Froot Loops and Lance—so yeah, I think so” Aliana smiled, bumping shoulders with Lance. Lance’s breath caught in his throat. Pidge sent him a knowing look from behind her and Hunk was wiggling his eyebrows.

 

“Okay—time to go” Lance ushered her out the door, glancing over his shoulder only to glare at the others.

 

They all piled into Allura’s car, Romelle calling shotgun, not that anyone would argue. It didn’t take long to get to the party, it was only a few blocks away from Allura’s house.

 

When Lance walked in he was immediately assaulted by the lingering smell of alcohol and weed. The lights were dimmed low and the music was playing fairly loud. This wasn’t one of the ragers that some of the kids at school would throw, it was a bit more mellow than that. The only reason Allura and Adam had agreed to come was the promise of no strobe light—apparently, once you got to university, you outgrew that.

 

“I’ll get some drinks,” Romelle said.

 

“And I’ll come with to get my own” Allura said “Designated driver and all. And _yes Pidge_ —I’ll get you soda”

 

The pair left so Lance and the others decided to find a good place to wait. Pidge took them to the living room and they stood on the outskirts of it.

 

“Roll up your sleeves and say a little prayer because your livers are getting wrecked tonight” Romelle morbidly exclaimed.

 

“I always knew I’d die of alcohol poisoning, I just never thought it’d be so soon” Adam hummed. Lance shot him a look.

 

Romelle passed out the cups, winking at her girlfriend who only held a water bottle.

 

“To a great night, with even greater people” Aliana winked, raising her cup for a moment before downing it like an absolute champ. Everyone promptly followed suit.

 

The rest of the night became a bit of a blur, not from the alcohol, but from just how much Lance loved Aliana. Just being around her was intoxicating. The fact that he was dancing with her, made his knees weak.

 

He was so far gone on her.

 

*

 

*

 

“She’s a screamer if you know what I mean” Rolo smirked. The other guys laughed.

 

“Does she know that Lily’s been trying to hook up with you lately?”

 

“Nope, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her” he shrugged back “Besides, it’s not like I’ll actually sleep with Lily, just some harmless flirting”

 

“Yeah, well when you finally eff things up with Aliana, tell her to call me so I can show her what a good time’s really like”

 

“You’d really take my sloppy seconds?” Rolo snorted.

 

“I can give you two reasons why and both can be located on her chest”

 

The bell rang, interrupting their laughter. The guys left Rolo’s locker in favour of going to class, and Lance took this as his chance to strike.

 

He walked up to Rolo as he was pushing the lock closed. What a fucking douche.

 

“Do you ever treat Lia like anything but an object?” Lance spoke up.

 

Startled, Rolo blinked. Lance used that as his chance to shove him against his locker.

 

“Start treating her like she’s a real human being, because spoiler alert, she is” He snapped, shoving Rolo away and hurrying to class.

 

It felt good to finally put the guy in his place. Until it came back to bite him in the ass.

 

He should’ve known Rolo wouldn’t just take that.

 

Lance had a bit of a reputation at school. He may have looked like a string bean, but when it came down to it, he could hold his own. Not to mention, when you messed with one McClain, you messed with all of them. Nobody wanted to fight him because you’d immediately have an army of McClain siblings after you. Rolo wasn’t looking for a one way trip to the hospital, just revenge.

 

So, while Lance may have been untouchable, Hunk became a target. He was known as the gentle giant; he had the size but was way too sweet to actually hurt anyone.

 

And suddenly Lance found himself in quite the predicament. He was being held back by Rolo’s friends as he was forced to watch his best friend get beat up.

 

“Next time, keep your mouth shut McClain” Rolo darkly laughed.

 

“Why don’t you come over here and fight me?” Lance taunted, solely to try and buy Hunk some time before help would arrive. Everyone present was just...watching.

 

It was a miracle really, that Aliana happened to be walking down that same hall that day. Almost immediately she made eye contact with Lance.

 

Rolo hit Hunk again.

 

“Leave him alone!” Lance shouted, breaking eye contact with Aliana in order to try and shove the guys off of him to no avail. Aliana frowned as she tried to see what was happening. Her jaw dropped once she finally got a clear view of the situation—her boyfriend punching one of her friends.

 

“Rolo! Stop it!” She furiously exclaimed, marching over. The crowd parted for her like the Red Sea and Lance breathed a sigh of relief. Aliana would rescue Hunk.

 

“Babe?” Rolo froze, caught red-handed.

 

“Don’t call me that right now” She hissed “Hunk are you okay, do you need a doctor?”

 

“Nah, I just need some ice. Thankfully, your boyfriend throws a weak punch” Hunk smiled, passive-aggressively.

 

“I’ll show you a weak punch” Rolo snapped, raising his fist.

 

“Put your hand down” Aliana rolled her eyes. She leaned down and helped Hunk up.

 

“Babe-“ Rolo started.

 

“No, Rolo, this whole thing you have going on is not okay. Hunk doesn’t deserve this” she cut him off.

 

“Well it’s not like I can take it out on McClain”

 

“You shouldn’t take it out on anyone, period. Find an outlet, or better yet, talk to me” She put a hand on his shoulder “I’m your girlfriend, I care about you, please let me in”

 

“I’m sorry” he mumbled. Lance took this as his cue to shove off the stupid goons.

 

“I’m gonna help Hunk real quick and then we need to talk, okay?” She gave him a half-smile. Rolo nodded.

 

The trio left, heading for the nurse’s office to get some ice. Hunk’s nose and lips were bleeding but nothing seemed too bad.

 

“I’m sorry about that Hunk” Aliana frowned.

 

“Hey, it’s not your fault” Hunk waved her off.

 

“I’m so sorry” Lance apologized to his friend.

 

“It’s not your fault either”

 

“I instigated the whole thing” Lance pushed.

 

“You didn’t hit me” Hunk reminded him.

 

“But if I hadn’t—if I would’ve just left him alone” Lance looked down.

 

“Lance, I know you were defending me,” Aliana said “Florona was at the water fountain when you called him out and told me about it. That’s actually why I was looking for him just now”

 

 _“Oh,”_ Lance blinked.

 

“Thank you for that by the way. I really appreciate you sticking up for me when I’m not there to do it myself” She leaned over and pecked his cheek.

 

“O-oh, it’s no problem” His cheeks warmed up.

 

“So what’s gonna happen between you and Rolo now?” Hunk asked what Lance was too scared to.

 

“I’ll probably give him another chance, he only acts like this to impress his friends” Aliana gave them a smile that seemed too forced.

 

Lance’s heart clenched. She was going to get herself heartbroken, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

 

*

 

*

 

**Lance; Age 17 - 8 Years Ago**

 

“Lia?” Lance froze. When he opened the front door, this was the last sight he expected to see.

 

“Hey Lance,” she tried to smile, though it was more of a grimace.

 

“What’s wrong Lia?” Lance frowned. He opened his arms and almost immediately the girl fell into them, sobs wracking her body.

 

“Shh, it’ll be fine, just let it all out” Lance murmured into her hair, rubbing a hand up and down her back “Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“R-Rolo cheated on me. Has been for a while now”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, with Nyma, my so-called friend” she continued, top lip trembling.

 

“Oh, Lia-“

 

“You—you didn’t know about it? Right? Did Pidge, did Hunk?”

 

“Lia, if we knew we would’ve told you”

 

“And I know that” she looked down “I’m sorry. It’s just, apparently, everyone else in our group knew and never said anything. I mean, I knew they weren’t…the best people, but I thought they still, I don’t know, cared?”

 

“I’m so sorry, Lia” Lance mumbled.

 

“God, I’m such a mess” she bitterly laughed, wiping her eyes “I look horrific”

 

“You look beautiful” the words slipped out his mouth with ease “You always do”

 

She looked at him in shock, a barely noticeable blush appearing. “Thank you”

 

“Listen, how about we take it easy tonight. Have one of those—what do you call ‘em—girls nights? We can do some of those face masks V got me, paint our nails with some of Rachel’s nail polish, watch a movie and eat ice cream” Lance suggested. He knew Aliana, and what she needed right now was relaxation. She’d talk about her feelings later when she was able to collect her thoughts better.

 

“That sounds—really fucking nice right now, actually” she let out an airy laugh. Lance was glad to see a smile back on her face because she didn’t deserve to be heartbroken.

 

“C’mon” he led her to the bathroom where he proceeded to gather the supplies. Then he took her to his bedroom and grabbed some clothes from his closet, tossing them at her. She took them with a grateful look and changed while Lance went and grabbed the ice cream container from the freezer, making sure to also grab two spoons.

 

“You can pick the movie” she quietly said.

 

“Lilo and Stitch?” He asked. She nodded fondly.

 

“Don’t cry over him Aliana, he doesn’t deserve it. He’s just a boy. You’re incredible, and you’ll get through this” Lance sternly told her as he opened the face mask container.

 

“You’re so sweet Lance, I can’t believe you’re still single” she shook her head with an incredulous look.

 

“Never found the right person” he shrugged. It was ironic though because the right person was staring him in the face.

 

They spent the entire evening together, laughing, crying, enjoying each other’s company. She painted his nails blue and he painted hers yellow. They went through the entire tub of ice cream and watched their way through a handful of movies.

 

Lance paused the movie, this time it was Clueless, and got up to use the bathroom. Once he returned to his spot on the floor beside her, Aliana spoke up as she gripped his hand.

 

“I know you like me, Lance, I-I overheard you and Romelle a while ago”

 

He froze, his entire body tensed and he tried to pull away from her. But her grip only tightened.

 

“Lia, I swear—I wasn’t using our friendship as a way to get closer to you. I love being your friend and—and I promise I was never going to make a move on you” Lance rushed out “You have to believe me, please”

 

“Lance, hey, Lance” She softly said, rubbing her thumb over his hand _“I know,_ I know you’d never do that. I’d never question our friendship”

 

Lance sighed in relief, his heartbeat slowing back down to normal.

 

“But...would it make me a bad person if I said that I’d like for us to be something more?”

 

 _“What?”_ Lance’s eyes widened.

 

“And—and _I know_ this isn’t the right time, and it’s asking a lot of you, but, if—if you’re willing to wait for me, I’d like to go out with you Lance. On a real date”

 

“You want to go out with me?”

 

“Not for a little while, because, holy shit does this Rolo thing suck. But soon?”

 

Without a second thought, Lance smiled. “Soon”

 

And true to her word, soon after, they went out on their first date. And then the second. And then the third, the fourth, the fifth—the dates never stopped. Lance could barely wrap his head around it.

 

Soon, Aliana was his girlfriend. Man, he was so fucking in love.

 

*

 

*

 

**Lance; Age 18 - 7 Years Ago**

 

“Lance,” Aliana took a deep breath “I’m pregnant”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m pregnant” she repeated, a nervous look on her face as if she was waiting to see Lance’s reaction.

 

“Oh— _oh_ — _wow_. Holy shit—a kid definitely wasn’t something I was planning on having now” Lance ran a hand through his hair “I can barely afford to take care of myself, let alone a baby”

 

“W-we don’t have to keep it if you’re not ready, not that I’m ready-“

 

“No” Lance shook his head “No. I’m not ready, but that doesn’t change anything. This—this is our kid and I want to give it a chance”

 

“You’re willing to go through with this? With me?”

 

“Of course I am Lia. You’re it for me, you know that right? I want to marry you, so if we have a kid soon, I’ll be at your side the entire way”

 

“You’re it for me too Lance”

 

“I can get another job. We’ll have to start apartment hunting too-”

 

“I love you” she cut him off, looking at him with equal parts surprise and adoration.

 

“I love you too”

 

*

 

*

 

“Hey, babe,” Lance asked, shifting slightly on the couch. He looked down at Aliana, who was curled up in his side “Have you thought of any names yet?”

 

“I think I like Kieran if it’s a boy” she mumbled. They were having another one of their ‘girls nights’ as Lance insisted on calling them. They’d sort of become a tradition for them. A night every once in a while to just relax. Sometimes even Allura, Romelle, Hunk, Adam and Pidge would join them too.

 

“Kieran?” He echoed. He hadn’t heard of that name before.

 

“Yeah, I overheard one of the expectant mom’s at Lamaze class mention it and I dunno, I just—I fell in love with it I guess” she shrugged “I don’t mind if you’d prefer something else”

 

“No, it’s perfect” He kissed the top of her head. Kieran. Rolled off the tongue nicely.

 

“I love you” she hummed. It still puzzled Lance—the way she would casually say she loved him. The words never lost their meaning, only made it more real “What about you, any names in mind?”

 

“Ella” He answered after a moment, “I think it’s pretty”

 

“Ella it is then” she looked up at him with a smile “What about middle names?”

 

“What if we named the baby after Pidge?” Lance mused.

 

“She’d try to battle our kid” she giggled “I can imagine it now— _‘It’s nothing personal kid, but there can only be one’_ ”

 

“What about Javier?” He suggested.

 

“After your dad?” she smiled. Lance nodded.

 

“Kieran Javier McClain” she mulled it over “I like it”

 

“Okay, so what would Ella’s middle name be?”

 

“I’ve always had a soft spot for Evangeline. I know it’s not the most conventional, but I just think it’s so— _classic_ , y’know? It sounds romantic”

 

“Ella Evangeline McClain” Lance felt a smile appear on his face “Sounds beautiful— _just like her mom”_

 

“God, I love you” she leaned up and pecked his lips.

 

And at that moment, Lance felt invincible. One day, he’d marry this girl; one day, they’d be parents.

 

Every dream, every desire, everything Lance had ever wanted and it was all within view. Soon.

 

*

 

*

 

“Congratulations guys!” Hunk exclaimed, yanking Lance and Aliana into a bear hug.

 

“How far along are you?” Romelle asked, bringing Aliana in for a kiss on the cheek.

 

“3 months” she smiles.

 

“Do you guys have any names yet?” Allura asked.

 

“We’re thinking of Ella for a girl and Kieran if it’s a boy” Lance replied. He watched in amusement as Adam went to open his mouth, only to be cut off by a laughing Aliana.

 

“And no Adam, we are _not_ naming it after you”

 

*

 

*

 

“Lance?” Adam said groggily over the phone “It’s the middle of the night”

 

“Sorry” he winced “It’s just, I can’t sleep”

 

“What’s wrong?” Adam sighed.

 

“I’m scared to be a dad” Lance admitted.

 

“Why? Haven’t you always wanted a family of your own?” Adam asked.

 

“Yeah, _when I was 30”_

 

“Lance you’re a natural with kids, and Aliana will be there too”

 

“But how am I supposed to be a good dad if I’ve never had one of my own Adam?”

 

“Lance-”

 

“And on top of that, what’s mama gonna think of me? Will she be disappointed with this, disappointed in me?”

 

“Lance-”

 

“Oh god, and Aliana’s family? Her dad’s probably gonna hate me”

 

_“Lance!”_

 

“Yeah?” he whispered.

 

“You’ve got this Lance, both of you do” Adam sternly said “I believe in you”

 

“But-”

 

“No. You’re gonna be an amazing dad, and Aliana’s gonna be an amazing mom. Trust me little brother” Adam continued “And mama? Lance, she could never, ever be disappointed in you. You’re just gonna have to trust me on this one”

 

Lance thought for a moment. “Okay, I trust you”

 

Adam hummed. "So, about the baby's name-"

 

"I mean it Adam, we're not naming it after you"

 

*

 

*

 

“The reason we gathered you all here today is because we have...exciting news. Well maybe some of you won’t find it exciting—I’m looking at you Mr.Martinez—but really it’s exciting, I swear. That’s not to say I’m not still terrified, but I mean-”

 

“Get on with it” Adam huffed.

 

“Be nice to your brother” Mama scolded.

 

“We’re having a baby” Lance blurted out. Aliana let out a laugh.

 

“Yeah, _surprise_ , I’m pregnant”

 

The room went silent.

 

“Oh my, I had no idea. This is shocking, truly. I’m almost appalled-” Adam tried to break the tension.

 

 _“You knew!”_ Veronica accused, pointing a finger his way.

 

“Huh, I guess I’m not as good of an actor as I thought” Adam pouted.

 

“Congrats you guys” Rachel pulled her twin brother into a hug.

 

“Thank you Rach” Lance mumbled in relief.

 

“I can’t say I’m not surprised. You guys are only 18 after all,” his Mama started. Lance felt his breath catch in his throat. If he didn’t get his mom’s approval, he might have a mental breakdown right there and then. _“However,_ if you decide to go through with this, I’m on board”

 

It felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. “Gracias mama, you have no idea how much that means to me”

 

She wrapped her arms around him. “Te quiero mucho, hijo”

 

“How did Lance end up with kids before me?” Marco laughed lightheartedly.

 

“How did he end up with kids before _me?_ I’m married!” Luis added.

 

“I can take you maternity clothes shopping,” Lisa told Aliana.

 

Veronica took her turn at hugging Lance. “I know you’ll be a good dad, and you’ve got all of us to help out. Everything will be fine”

 

“Thanks, V” He smiled. Then a hand clasped his shoulder and he became face-to-face with Aliana’s older brother. Lance gulped.

 

“I’m happy for you guys” Mateo’s blank face morphed into a smile “And if anyone was having a baby with my sister, I’m glad it’s you”

 

Lance blinked.

 

“I’m gonna be a grandmother!” Aliana’s mom shouted in glee.

 

“And you also got my mom off of my back, pestering me about having kids. So thanks” Mateo whispered.

 

“You’re welcome?” Lance slightly chuckled.

 

Aliana’s dad still hadn’t said a word. She and Lance shared a look before she spoke up.

 

“Dad? Are you mad at me?” Her voice broke halfway through. Immediately, her father’s glare softened.

 

“No princesa, simplemente no esperaba esto” He said “I’m just trying to process it all”

 

“Process what, Jorge? Our baby’s having a baby, este es el mejor dia de mi vida!” Her mom exclaimed.

 

“Esperanza-”

 

“Okay no, it’s the second best day of my life, the first was probably when I went to that Backstreet Boys reunion concert last month” she amended.

 

“See?” Adam inserted himself between Lance and Aliana “I told you guys everything would be okay”

 

“I guess now’s as good a time as ever to do this then” Lance trailed off, stepped back and pulling out a small black box from his pocket. Aliana’s face broke out into a blindingly beautiful grin once she realized what he was doing.

 

He got down on one knee in front of her. “I know we’re not under the most…conventional circumstances, but Aliana, will you marry me?”

 

“Nothing would make me happier” she exclaimed, leaning down and placing a hand on his cheek, pulling him into a kiss. They both didn’t register the cheers around them until they broke apart for air.

 

*

 

*

 

The doctor smiled at them “You’re having twins”

 

“Twins?” Lance echoed.

 

“A girl and a boy” the doctor nodded.

 

“Oh my god” Aliana whispered, a grin breaking out on her face.

 

“We’re having twins love,” Lance said.

 

“Ella _and_ Kieran” she pecked him on the lips.

 

*

 

*

 

“Lance I can’t see my feet” Tears welled in Aliana’s eyes.

 

“Are you okay?” Lance asked in concern, rushing to the living room where she was standing.

 

“No. I’m disgusting” she frowned, looking at her protruding stomach.

 

“You’re not disgusting, you never are,” Lance said, wrapping an arm around her.

 

Aliana started shaking and it took Lance a minute to realize she was crying.

 

“Lia? Babe, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

 

“I just—ugh I love you so much, and these pregnancy hormones are making me more emotional than ever. I love you”

 

“I love you too”

 

*

 

*

**Lance; Age 19 - 6 Years Ago**

 

 _“Guys-“_ Aliana interrupted the movie “-I think it’s happening”

 

Lance jumped up from the couch and raced to get their already-packed bags.

 

“What’s happening?” Adam cluelessly asked.

 

“The babies, dumbass” Pidge quipped.

 

“I hope you’re not planning to use that language around the kids” Hunk hummed.

 

“Are you kidding me? Aliana would skin me alive if both her children’s first word was ‘dumbass’. I don’t have a death wish”

 

“I’m calling Mama, Hunk you call Allura and Romelle” Adam excitedly pulled out his cellphone.

 

Lance rushed over to his fiancé and wrapped an arm around her waist.

 

“We’re about to be parents sweetheart” he murmured in her ear.

 

She turned to him and pressed a kiss on his temple. “Welcome to the rest of our lives, darling”

 

*

 

*

 

“We’re losing her” a nurse shouted. Lance’s heart stopped.

 

“What?” He asked. The room became a flurry of nurses and doctors, all surrounding his fiancé and mother of his newborn twins.

 

_“Patient is suffering from severe postpartum hemorrhaging”_

 

_“Doctor, her blood pressure is falling”_

 

_“We’re detecting an abnormal rise in her heart rate”_

 

He couldn’t catch everything they were saying, and he barely understood what he did hear. All he knew was that it was bad. Very bad.

 

“No— _no_ , this can’t be happening” Lance started to frantically mumble. How could this be happening? The twins were born, they were healthy, they were fine. Aliana should’ve been fine.

 

He couldn’t lose her. How was he supposed to raise their kids alone? What about the future he and Aliana were planning? The wedding was in 5 months.

 

Aliana couldn’t die. She couldn’t. They were gonna raise Ella and Kieran, grow old together, watch their babies grow up. They were gonna laugh at how awkward Romelle was with kids, watch Pidge teach them the importance of conspiracy theories, watch as Allura would binge Disney movies with them, Adam would convince them that he was the cool uncle and Hunk would bake with them. Lance’s family would spoil them, and Aliana’s family wouldn’t be any better. They were gonna buy a nice house in a nice neighbourhood with lots of other kids. Aliana would cry on the kids first day of school, and Lance would hold her as they watched the two walk into their class. Aliana would make sure they had a family night every Sunday and Lance would cook them their favourite meals. Aliana would teach Lance how to braid Ella’s hair. Lance would read them bedtime stories and Aliana, she’d sing them beautiful lullabies. Sometimes Lance would join in, and they’d all laugh at how tone-deaf he was. After tucking them in as Lance would kiss their foreheads, Aliana would pepper their faces with kisses. They’d both whisper a soft “I love you” before turning off the lights. They’d lean against their kids’ closed door, gaze into each other’s eyes. Lance would fall in love with Aliana more and more, if that was even possible. Aliana would plant the softest kiss on his cheek and Lance would wrap an arm around her. _“We’re good parents”_ he would mumble, _“I knew we would be”_ she’d laugh into his shoulder.

 

They’d teach their kids everything they knew, but most importantly, he and Aliana would make sure that Ella and Kieran knew just how much they loved them.

 

They had a happily ever after planned. Aliana couldn’t die.

 

“Somebody—save her—please” Lance frantically called out “I can’t do this without her, I need her, they need her. _We need her”_

 

 _Please,_ he prayed, _take anything you want from me, just don’t take Aliana. Anything but her._

 

“L-Lance” she faintly called. He was by her side in a minute.

 

“Yes, love?”

 

“Lance please take care of our babies” There were tears in her eyes, the hazel even more prominent than ever. Tears of utter heartbreak “I love all of you so much, never forget that. You’re the love of my life Lance, I’m sorry it had to be like this. You deserve better”

 

 _“You_ deserve better,” he said. He was never one for crying, and yet, his cheeks were soaked.

 

“Lance you can do this, I know you can. I love you darling” she grabbed his trembling hand. He could feel the coolness of the engagement ring she wore against his hand. The ring was a promise, a beginning, something they’d dreamt of.

 

“I love you, so much” his voice cracked.

 

“I never doubted it, Lance, _never”_ she sent him one of her heart-stopping smiles and Lance felt his tears fall harder as he realized he may never see one of those in person again.

 

The heart monitor started to jump. A nurse put her hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Hun, we need you to step out for a moment”

 

“What?” He blinked.

 

“You can’t be here, for now, come on, let me take you to your babies. Nurse Paige has them all cleaned up for you”

 

“But what about Lia-“

 

“Lance” she weakly interjected “It’s okay. Go. Our kids need you”

 

“But-“ he choked.

 

“Go. It’s okay”

 

So he allowed himself to be led away from the love of his life, knowing deep down, this was it. His body felt cold, his mind was numb and his heart was shattered.

 

The nurse rubbed his back soothingly.

 

He looked at her “Tell me they’ll save her, tell me she’ll be okay”

 

“They’ll do everything they can, hun” she replied, sympathy pooling her in eyes.

 

But Lance knew that everything wasn’t enough.

 

He took the time to look over his shoulder one last time, making sure to absorb all he could. Her hazel eyes, her long brown hair, her tan skin, her freckled nose. The way she smelled like cinnamon and somehow made Lance feel so at home. The way her nose would wrinkle when she laughed, how her eyes would light up when Lance said he loved her. He memorized it all, in fear that if he didn’t commit it all to memory now, he would forget by the next morning.

 

Their eyes met, likely for the last time, and he worked up the courage to mouth _“I love you”._ Tears fell from her eyes as she whispered it back to him.

 

And then he was in the hospital hallway. The nurse closed the door and the finality sunk in. Tears ran down his face as she led him to the waiting room, where he found Pidge, Romelle, Allura, Hunk and Adam, all five pacing around nervously.

 

Adam pulled him into a hug and Lance let himself cry even more.

 

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do” he whispered.

 

What was he going to tell Aliana’s parents, their flight wasn’t set to land for another couple hours. They’d arrive and—how would they react to their daughter’s death? And Aliana’s older brother, he’d be absolutely crushed when he found out once his train arrives. And Lance’s entire family, they were mere minutes away, they had no idea what they were about to find out.

 

But the kids, they had it worst of all. They’d grow up their entire lives without a mom. They would never know what she sounded like, how her hugs felt—they never even got the chance to meet their mom.

 

“You’re gonna raise those kids exactly the way she would’ve wanted and we’ll be there every step of the way Lance,” Romelle said.

 

“You’re not alone” Allura added “We’re here for you, anytime you need us”

 

He wasn’t alone, but he might as well have been. When he went home, his bed would be empty at night, no one there to cuddle with. His mornings would no longer be filled with soft singing, his nights would no longer consist of stargazing.

 

But then the nurse returned, this time with two strollers, each holding one of their babies, and he realized, he wasn’t alone.

 

His bed would gain two extra bodies whenever dreams became nightmares, his mornings would gain soft laughter and his nights would gain warm hugs. Aliana was gone, but she was leaving Ella and Kieran in her absence.

 

Lance wiped the tears away and tentatively walked over to the twins. Almost immediately, the tear in his heart began to mend itself, for he had lost one love for the sake of two more.

 

“Oh, Ella” He whispered, smiling down at the angel with hazel eyes “You have her eyes”

 

“And Kieran, you have her nose” Lance continued with a wet smile, reaching down and letting the little bundle of sunshine hold his thumb. He had to be strong, if not for himself, for their kids. Aliana would’ve wanted it that way.

 

“Your mother may be gone but I promise she loved you” He continued, placing a light kiss on each of their foreheads, “She loved you so much. She loved you from the moment she knew of your existence”

 

Aliana Martinez, the love of his life. With a sweet as candy smile and a mesmerizing laugh. Her beauty was alluring and her personality, addictive.

 

_Maybe one day they would meet again._

 

*

 

*

 

“I can’t do this anymore Allura” Lance sobbed into the phone.

 

“Lance, hold on. Please don’t move, Romelle and I are on our way” Allura frantically said.

 

“I can’t get the babies to stop crying, I haven’t slept in days and everything reminds me of her” The tears tasted bitter in his mouth.

 

“No one said it was gonna be easy Lance, but you’ll get through this. I promise” Allura said.

 

“I hate this Allura, I hate everything about this!” He screamed, grabbing a glass off the counter and throwing it at the front door. The twins wailing only increased.

 

“Lance-“

 

“I hate Aliana for leaving us, I hate myself for being so fucking useless” Instead of getting louder, his voice became a whisper “I hate my own kids Allura. I see them, and I just—I feel so guilty”

 

“It’s gonna take time Lance” Allura’ voice became slightly muffled, as if he was covering the mic “Romelle can’t you drive any faster?”

 

“I look at them, and I see these two beings we brought into the world. They deserve unconditional love, they deserve to be cared for, and I feel so fucking guilty every time I look at their innocent faces—because if given the chance, I would trade them both for Aliana” Lance’s choked sobs were making it harder for him to breathe “How fucked up is that Allura? I don’t even love my own children”

 

“Lance, you don’t mean that” Allura’ voice broke halfway through “The day they were born, I could see it in your eyes, you love them”

 

“I don’t even know anymore Allura. I’m never happy, I’m always tired and—I just can’t fucking do this. I can’t”

 

“Lance unlock your door, Romelle and I just pulled into the parking lot”

 

Wordlessly Lance walked to the apartment were and unlocked it. The babies cries were starting to quiet down, but Lance’s head was still in a static haze.

 

Minutes later Allura and Romelle rushed in. Romelle went straight for the twins while Allura stayed with Lance.

 

“Come here” Allura sighed, opening his arms. Lance didn’t hesitate to fall into them, sobs wracking his body.

 

“What am I doing?” Lance mumbled after he calmed down.

 

“Honestly? I have no clue” Allura laughed, and Lance couldn’t help but snort “We’re young Lance, so young. I don’t know how to raise a kid, let alone two, but what I do know is that this is a team effort. ‘Melle, Pidge, Hunk, Adam and I are with you every step of the way, never forget that”

 

“Thank you. All of you” Lance looked down.

 

“Hey, what’re friends for? We owe it to not only you but Aliana too. She was just as important to us as she was to you”

 

“Sometimes I forget I’m not the only one who misses her” Lance sniffled.

 

“I miss her so much Lance, she was such a bright person and without her, we wouldn’t have gotten to meet those two bundles of joy”

 

“I haven’t even asked any of you guys how you felt after she died” Lance frowned at his selfishness.

 

“Hey, no one expected you to. Lance, she was important to all of us, but she’s been the centre of your universe since you were 16, obviously, it’s going to be harder on you than it is on anyone else” Allura softly said.

 

“Fuck. I really miss her”

 

“I know”

 

“I still love her”

 

“I know”

 

“I think I always will”

 

Allura looked sad. “I know”

 

*

 

*

 

**Lance; Age 25 - Present Day**

 

“Ella, wake up,” Lance lowly said, gently shaking his daughter ever so slightly. He watched fondly as her nose crinkled, her hazel eyes sleepily opening.

 

“Time for school?” She croaked.

 

“Yes angel” He nodded, running a hand through her hair. It was getting a bit long and he should probably book an appointment to get it cut soon.

 

“You go pick out your clothes while I wake up your brother, okay?”

 

“Okay, daddy” She smiled, throwing off her pink comforter and sliding off the bed. Lance left, this time going into the room across from her.

 

“Kieran, sunshine, it’s time to get up,” He said, pressing a chaste kiss on his forehead. It took a few more minutes before the 5-year-old was getting up.

 

Lance then made his way to the kitchen, grabbing the plates of pancakes that he had made earlier and placed them on the table. Blueberry for Ella, raspberry for Kieran.

 

Soon enough, two sets of feet came padding down the hall. The twins took their seats and started to eat, each rushing out a quick “Thank you, daddy”.

 

“Angel, do you want me to braid your hair?” Lance asked.

 

Ella perked up. “Yes please!”

 

“Why can’t you braid my hair dad?” Kieran pouted.

 

“Your hair’s a little too short for that, sunshine” Lance ran a hand over the boy’s hair. He’d just gotten it cut the other week “If you grow it out then I can”

 

“Long hair tickles my neck” Kieran frowned “I don’t like it”

 

“That’s fine” Lance laughed. He grabbed a hair tie off the counter and started to braid Ella’s hair. Her hair was a few shades darker than her moms was.

 

“Regular or French braid?” He asked her.

 

She thought for a moment as if the fate of the world depended on her decision. “French”

 

Veronica and Rachel had taught him how to braid hair pretty early on, and he didn’t mean to brag, but he’d gotten pretty good at it over the years.

 

“Today Mr.Shiro said we’re doing a spelling test,” Kieran told his dad.

 

“You guys will do amazing, you studied all last night,” Lance said “Just do your best”

 

“E, is it g-u-e-s-s or g-e-u-s-s?” Kieran asked.

 

“The first one” she grinned. Lance finished and twisted the hair tie.

 

“Good job Ella” He kissed the top of her head “And it’s good that you ask questions when you don’t know something Kieran”

 

“We must consume knowledge!” The boy exclaimed.

 

Lance blinked. “Where did you learn that?”

 

“Auntie Pidge said it after she told me about the locknest mobster”

 

“Kieran it’s the lochness monster” Ella corrected.

 

“Oh god, Pidge turned my kids into conspiracy theorists” Lance mumbled with a slight chuckle. Lance left them to finish eating so he could change into his uniform. After he dropped the kids at school he’d go straight to work.

 

Hunk and his girlfriend, Shay, owned their own cafe, so Lance had a steady job there as a waiter. It paid pretty well because of its popularity. ‘Balmera’s Bean’ was a definite hotspot. On the side, Lance was also a yoga instructor, something he took up because of his love for yoga as well as the flexibility of his schedule.

 

Sometimes things got tight, but overall, things were okay. Not to mention that Aliana’s parents would frequently send him money for the twins. Her brother Mateo would send the kids gifts whenever he could too. And Lance’s family would do what they could, they may not have had a lot of money but what they lacked in finances, they made up for in love.

 

Though that’s not to say Lance hadn’t had to make some tough choices and do things he wasn’t necessarily proud of.

 

Lance quickly shrugged off his pyjamas in favour of his uniform, which consisted of a baby blue shirt, black pants and a black apron. A small name tag sat on the upper left corner of his shirt that simply said “Lance :)”.

 

He fixed his hair in the mirror before going back to the kitchen.

 

“Okay guys it’s time to go” Lance announced “Grab your backpacks”

 

The twins get up from the table and scurry back to their rooms. Lance uses the moment to put their dishes in the sink.

 

Ella returns first, a yellow backpack on. Kieran comes seconds later in his red one.

 

It was mid-September, so jackets were not required just yet.

 

Lance ushered the kids out of the apartment and locked the door.

 

Ella grabbed his hand as they started walking. “Daddy, is Auntie Allura picking us up today?”

 

“Not today” Lance shook his head “Today I’m picking you up”

 

“Can I show you my name tag?” Kieran piped up excitedly “It’s red!”

 

“Sure thing, sunshine”

 

They made it outside of the building soon and once they made it to Lance’s car, he strapped them both in the back seats.

 

Once upon a time, he had a truck. It was his prized possession and he took much pride in it. But then Aliana got pregnant and the truck was traded for a much more practical hatchback.

 

Lance smiled as he listened to the twin's babble. Sometimes things got hard for him. He still had days where he woke up and wished he hadn’t. There were days when he just wanted to shut down. But the twins, they kept him going.

 

Luckily, they lived relatively close to school, so before long, Lance was helping them out of the car.

 

Lance walked them up to the playground where all the other kids and their parents were. Their teacher, Mr.Shiro, was chatting along with some girl’s mom. Although the twins preferred to refer to him as Uncle Shiro.

 

The one time Lance asked Adam to pick up the kids from school, and he gets a date out of it with their teacher. _Typical._

 

“Okay, I’ve gotta go to work now, I’ll see you later” Lance leaned over and kissed each of their cheeks “Remember what I told you?”

 

“Do our best and try to relax” they recited in unison. Lance nodded in satisfaction and patted them both on the back. They took that as their cue to run off and find their friends.

 

Lance tried his hardest to make sure the twins knew he’d be proud of them no matter what. He never wanted them to stress like he used to in school. Their best was always good enough, but if they wanted to shoot for the stars, he’d support them; he knew Aliana would’ve agreed.

 

With one last glance over his shoulder, he went back to his car. His day was about to get a lot more interesting.

 

*

 

*

 

“Welcome to Balmera’s Bean, what can I get for you today?”

 

“Could I get a medium vanilla latte and a red velvet muffin?” The woman asked with a smile.

 

“Sure thing” Lance nodded, tapping the register “Name?”

 

“Leslie”

 

He nodded again, grabbing a cup and writing her name on it. “That should be done shortly, Romelle will get you your muffin” He pointed to the blonde beside him. She thanked him before moving along.

 

Lance slumped against the counter slightly. The morning rush was finally ending.

 

“Look alive Lance, you’re scaring the customers” Adam hummed from behind.

 

“You can’t even see my face” Lance scowled.

 

“Stop scowling” Adam quipped.

 

“I wasn’t scowling” Lance replied.

 

“Lance there’s a window right in front of you, I can see your reflection”

 

“I knew that” He lied “I was just testing you”

 

“How considerate of you”

 

“Yeah well, being a dad has really matured me”

 

“Lance, last week a lady filed a complaint against you for being _‘too feral’_ when serving little girls” Adam deadpanned.

 

“I don’t know what she meant by that” Lance shrugged innocently.

 

“She watched Pidge ask you for something off the secret menu and you say _‘fuck you, we’re not Starbucks’_ ” Romelle interjected, the customer she was helping long gone.

 

“Well, what did you expect? She ordered that to piss me off” Lance said in his defence.

 

“Oh trust me, I know, she did the same to me literally the next day” Romelle snorted.

 

“Is your boyfriend coming to visit today?” Lance changed the subject.

 

“Yeah, Shiro’s coming during his lunch break” Adam nodded.

 

“Allura mentioned earlier that he was bringing along a friend” Romelle side eyed Lance.

 

“Oh yeah!” Adam glanced at Lance “Shiro’s brother Keith is coming too”

 

“Why do you guys keep looking at me, it’s creeping me out”

 

“Maybe you and Keith will hit it off” Romelle insinuated.

 

“My sources say no” Lance snorted.

 

“It’s been a while since your last date,” Romelle said “We’re just trying to see if maybe Keith could be the one for you”

 

“How old is he?”

 

“Uh,” Adam sheepishly looked down “26”

 

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a no from me” Lance shook his head. He’d sworn off dating anyone close to his age, simply because they were too young. No one in their twenties was looking to become a step-parent anytime soon. Lance had plenty of experience with the type of disasters that would cause.

 

“Could you just give it a shot, please, for me?” Adam asked.

 

Lance huffed. “Fine”

 

“Thank you” Adam smiled in relief “Because we already convinced him to ask you out”

 

“What? How?” Lance demanded.

 

“Alright, so I’m just gonna…go” Romelle slowly backed away, ignoring Adam’s betrayed look.

 

“We told him you were hot, single and ready to mingle” He explained “And I may have shown him pictures of you doing yoga. Good news is, he likes your ass”

 

“Adam, the fact that I even have to say this is ridiculous” Lance deadpanned “Stop pimping me out”

 

“I know, I know” Adam sighed “It’s just, I have a really good feeling about this. I think you and Keith could work. Shiro didn’t tell him you had kids, so you can even work up to that on your own time”

 

Lance felt his resolve crumble. His friends and his brother just wanted to help. They didn’t like seeing him so....lonely.

 

“Alright” Lance shrugged “I’ll give him a shot”

 

“That’s all I’m asking for” Adam smiled.

 

“But you totally owe me like three free babysitting days” Lance added.

 

“Lance, I always babysit for free” He deadpanned.

 

“And don’t you forget it” Lance winked.

 

His brother left, promising to return later with Shiro and Keith.

 

Did he really think he’d hit it off with Keith? No. Not at all actually. But Adam was going out of his way to do something nice, which was rare, so Lance would wholeheartedly try his best.

 

Despite his claims though, a part of him was excited. _What if things were different this time?_

 

And that’s how Lance found himself smiling as he glanced at the clock, counting down the minutes until Adam’s return.

 

*

 

*

 

“Hey, Lance!” Romelle called from behind the counter. He stopped wiping down the table and glanced up at her.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Cafe’s empty” She raised an eyebrow at him, lips quirking up.

 

“And?”

 

“Wanna see how many mini brownies we can shove in our mouths without choking?”

 

Lance thought for a moment before tossing his cleaning cloth down on the table and shrugging. “Sure”

 

Five minutes later and the two found themselves stuffed with 10 and 11 brownies, respectively.  


Romelle was able to mumble something that slightly resembled “I win.”

 

Lance narrowed his eyes at her, his hand slowly reaching down onto the plate and picking up another brownie. There was no way he was finishing with anything less than a tie.

 

Just as he was shoving the dessert into his mouth, the cafe’s door swung open and Adam strutted in with the twins’ teacher and the guy Lance could only presume was Keith.

 

Let the records show that Keith….was _hot_. So attractive in fact that his beauty actually made Lance sharply inhale in shock, and while normally that wouldn’t be an issue, when you had almost a dozen brownies shoved in your mouth—let’s just say, it had Lance doubled over and gasping for air in no time.

 

“Hey, what’s up guys— _Lance are you okay?”_ Adam’s smile quickly dropped in concern.

 

Romelle quickly grabbed a napkin and spit out her food. “He’s fine” She assured the trio with an unconvincing grin.

 

“I’m so sorry you had to see this Shiro,” Adam sighed as he watched his little brother spit out into a napkin Romelle held to his mouth.

 

“What about me?” Keith raised a single eyebrow.

 

“To be completely honest, I forgot you were here” Adam shrugged.

 

“You brought me!” Keith exclaimed, shooting a glare at Shiro when he let out a snort.

 

“Hey, I’ve got a lot on my mind right now” Adam stuck his nose in the air petulantly, “My brother just almost died”

 

“I can’t believe Shiro’s dating you, you’re infuriating”

 

“You think I’m infuriating? Wait until you meet Lance” He pointed at his brother who was currently gulping water like his life depended on it, “You good Lance?”

 

“I’m good” he nodded in confirmation.

 

“Hey Lance,” Shiro smiled.

 

“Hey,” Lance grinned “You guys want the usual?”

 

“Yes, but I actually want Romelle to get it for us. You’re gonna go sit down and bond with Keith”

 

“Oh,” Lance shrugged, pulling off his apron “Okay”

 

Keith was baffled. “Can’t you get fired for that?”

 

“Nah, Hunk’s too nice to fire anyone, that’s why Adam was able to work here for as long as he did”

 

“Excuse me” Adam scoffed “I was employee of the month _six_ different times”

 

“Adam-” Lance slowly said “-you printed out your own pictures and handmade the plaques”

 

Keith burst out laughing. “That’s so sad”

 

Even Shiro couldn’t help but snicker.

 

“Y’know what? I already regret this. You two together is my personal hell”

 

“You like to annoy my brother too?” Lance asked.

 

Keith nodded. “It’s one of the few things I enjoy in life”

 

“I think you and I are gonna get along just fine” Lance grinned, walking around the counter. He grabbed Keith’s hand and pulled him over to a booth, away from the others.

 

“So mullet,” he smiled “Tell me about yourself”

 

“I’m gonna let that one go, solely because I feel like you need all the help you can get to redeem yourself after that first impression you made”

 

“That’s so thoughtful, thank you” Lance snorted.

 

“I know” Keith smirked.

 

“Oh, and he’s humble too” He hummed in amusement.

 

“Careful there, it sounds like you’re starting to fall in love with me”

 

“Please, I’d rather fall asleep”

 

Keith laughed at that and Lance’s stomach felt funny. The more he talked with Keith (turned out he was a personal trainer and rode a motorcycle, how cool was that?), the more intense the funny feeling in his stomach became. Lance knew exactly what that feeling was, he’d know it like the back of his hand; he’d felt it with Aliana back in high school, all those years ago.

 

 _He had a crush on Keith._ And somehow, he was okay with that.

 

 

 


	2. One Chapter Ends as Another One Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thought you'd seen the last of me? 
> 
> for real though, I meant to get this chapter out earlier but life happens yknow? so in return for your patience I made it as long as I could. I also gave you some Keith POV so enjoy :)

 

"Where are my little gremlins?” Lance exclaimed.

 

“Auntie Pidge isn’t here daddy” Kieran frowned.

 

“My bad, sunshine” Lance snorted.

 

Ella finished talking to her friend and skipped over. “Okay, let’s go get ice cream”

 

She started to walk off but Lance grabbed her backpack. “Uh, who said anything about ice cream”

 

“You did, _uh,_ this morning?” Ella tried.

 

“Yeah, nice try Ella” Lance laughed “But I wasn’t born yesterday”

 

“I told you it wouldn’t work” Kieran huffed.

 

"You two really need to stop scheming against me” Lance shook his head in amusement.

 

“It works on Tio Adam” Ella defended.

 

“Yeah well Tio Adam has three brain cells”

 

“Sometimes I think he only has one” Shiro chuckled, walking up to the group.

 

“Mr.Uncle Shiro” Kieran gave a toothy grin “Are you ready to go get ice cream with us?”

 

“What?”

 

“You said you’d take us to get ice cream after school this morning”

 

“I did?” Shiro tilted his head “I mean, _I did!”_

 

“I’m starting to think you and Adam share that brain cell” Lance shook his head “Kids, stop taking advantage of Shiro’s age to get free ice cream off of him”

 

“I’m not old” Shiro grumbled “Gullible? Maybe, but _not_ old”

 

The four made their way to the parking lot. Shiro helped Ella get in the car while Lance helped Kieran. After the kids were strapped in, they both carefully closed the car doors.

 

“Hey, Lance?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Keith—he’s uh, been through a lot. He’d rather die than admit it, but he’s not as stone-cold as he wants people to believe. Just, well, be gentle with him—not that he’s fragile or anything but-“

 

 _“Shiro,”_ Lance cut him off “I get it. I’ll take good care of him”

 

Shiro smiled back. “Thank you, Lance”

 

“It’s the least I can do, you put up with my brother don’t you?”

 

“Speaking of Adam, can you please not mention the fact that the twins almost played me like that? I have an image to uphold”

 

“You got it, Captain” Lance mockingly saluted.

 

The two parted ways with Shiro heading back inside and Lance getting in the car. The entire ride home consisted of the twins recounting their day at school.

 

“And then I beat Crystal at jump rope” Ella beamed.

 

“But then she beat you on the monkey bars” Kieran snickered.

 

“And then I beat her at hopscotch” Ella snapped.

 

“Can someone even win hopscotch?” Lance mused.

 

“I can and I did”

  
“They’re rivals” Kieran informed his dad.

 

“Okay, but how did you win at hopscotch?” Lance asked, clearly intrigued.

 

“All that matters is that I won”

 

He blinked. “I need to stop letting Pidge babysit you”

 

He parked the car and took the kids inside. They sat at the table and did their homework while Lance started dinner.

 

“Daddy?” Ella piped up.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Who’s Keith?”

 

Lance choked on his own spit. “Where did you hear about him?”

 

“You and Uncle Shiro talk really loud” Ella shrugged.

 

“Are we getting a dog?” Kieran looked ecstatic.

 

“Named….Keith?” Ella’s nose scrunched up.

 

“We can change its name right?” Now Kieran looked distressed at the thought of having a dog named Keith.

 

“No” Lance narrowed his eyes “How many times do I have to tell you we’re not getting a dog?”

 

“You promised us one this morning” There was a mischievous glint in Ella’s eyes.

 

Lance snorted. “You guys are impossible. Go wash up, dinner’s almost ready”

 

Two sets of feet went scrambling down the hall to the washroom and Lance smiled softly. Sometimes they could be a handful, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Lance had always grown up in a large family and as a direct result, a bustling home. And now? Things hadn’t changed much; the number of noise complaints Lance had flirted his way out of was more than enough evidence.

 

It made things easier, the busyness that is. Made it easier to forget, easier to pretend things were always fine.

 

He glanced over at the door, more specifically, the portrait that hung near it. The kids knew who she was, knew that their mom was dead. Lance had made sure to keep things open with them; if the twins wanted to ask something about Aliana, Lance wouldn’t hesitate to answer. It may have still hurt to talk about, but she was important to them too.

 

Two small bodies attached themselves to his legs. He blinked, the frown he hadn’t even noticed morphing into a grin. There was no point in dwelling over the past when the future was right in front of him, currently giving the warmest hugs.

 

*

 

*

 

The rest of the week was normal; drop the kids off at school, go to work, pick them up from school and repeat it all the next day.

 

But time seemed to pass by quickly. Before he knew it, it was his first date with Keith. And sure, it was a group date with Shiro, Adam, Allura and Romelle, but it was a date nonetheless.

 

“Hey man, thanks for watching the kids tonight” Lance pulled Hunk into a hug as Shay closed the front door behind her.

 

“It’s no problem, it’s not like we had anything better to do” He shrugged.

 

“Friday nights are a bit too...wild for us. We prefer Saturday morning dates” Shay smiled.

 

Lance grinned. “You guys are so wholesome”

 

“Yeah, well someone has to be”

 

“Uncle Hunk! Auntie Shay!” Ella exclaimed in excitement, running over and jumping onto Hunk.

 

“Hey Lala,” Hunk ruffled her hair.

 

Kieran quickly joined them, throwing himself at Shay.

 

“Be good for Hunk and Shay okay guys? They’re too pure to be corrupted by your delinquent ways” Lance narrowed his eyes.

 

“I thought I was an angel?” Ella fake pouted.

 

“You’re _my_ angel, there’s a difference” Lance corrected.

 

“Did you know my dad’s going on a date?” Kieran asked Shay.

 

She gasped, feigning shock. “No way, are you serious?”

 

“Yeah” the boy beamed “With our new dog”

 

 _“Kieran”_ Lance spluttered _“Keith is a person”_

 

“For now” he dismissed the matter, a smile still intact. Lance didn’t trust that smile for a minute.

 

 _“For now?_ Kieran, what does that mean?” Lance exclaimed. The boy in question ignored him and pulled Ella and Shay away, claiming to want to play a game with them.

 

Lance turned to Hunk. “Hunk what did he mean by that? What does he mean ‘ _for now_ ’? I’m actually starting to fear for Keith’s life-”

 

“He’s a child Lance, what is he gonna do?” Hunk deadpanned. Lance sighed.

 

“You’re right, you’re right” He gestured to his outfit “So how do I look?”

 

“Happy”

 

“You’re so cheesy” Lance shook his head fondly.

 

“I’m serious though, you look like you’re glowing” Hunk insisted.

 

“I’m excited Hunk, so excited” Lance grinned “I haven’t been this anxious since—well, since high school”

 

“You deserve this Lance, I’m really proud of you” Hunk pulled him into a tight hug.

 

“Y’know what?” Lance mumbled into his shoulder “I’m proud of myself too”

 

*

 

*

 

“Sorry, I’m late” Lance rushed out as he joined the others in line outside the club.

 

“What happened?” Allura asked.

 

“Hunk started to bake—you know how good his food is, so legally I couldn’t leave until it was done”

 

“Did he save me any?” Romelle looked hopeful.

 

Lance grinned at her. “He’ll bring the container to you tomorrow”

 

“What about me?” Adam pouted.

 

“About that....” Lance sheepishly trailed off.

 

“I hate you. I knew mom should’ve stopped having kids after Veronica”

 

“Rachel would hit you for that” Allura reminded him.

 

“Don’t tell her I said that” Adam looked slightly terrified “Shiro, you’ll protect me right?”

 

Shiro snorted. “You’re on your own there, babe”

 

“Keith?” Adam hopefully asked, batting his eyelashes.

 

“You ate the last slice of pizza last night, bite me asshole”

 

“Hey,” Lance said to Keith, both ignoring Adam’s indignant protests “You look nice”

 

Keith’s lips quirked up. “You look great too”

 

“I haven’t gone out in a while” Lance admitted.

 

“Really? I would’ve pegged you as the type of guy to go out every weekend”

 

And that might’ve been true years ago, but things were different now.

 

“I live a busy life” Lance winked.

 

“Oh geez, can you even fit me in your schedule?” Keith mocked.

 

He pretended to think about it. “I’ll see what I can do. I can probably fit you in every so often”

 

Keith gave a genuine smile. “I’d like that”

 

*

 

  
*

 

It was safe to say that Lance was having an amazing time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a date this fun.

 

The six of them had spent most of the evening so far dancing, drinking and laughing together.

  
At first, all of them danced together. Then as the night wore on, some people started to take breaks. Everyone but Lance that is—this was his first night out in a while, there was _no_ _way_ he wasn’t taking advantage of it.

 

He’d danced with Keith, then Romelle, then Allura, then Shiro and finally Adam.

 

“I guess dancing runs in the McClains blood, huh?” Shiro smiled as the two brothers came back from the dance floor to their large group booth.

 

“Yeah but clearly it got diluted over time,” Adam said.

 

Lance shot him an unimpressed look. “Adam stop telling people you’re the better brother, nobody likes a liar”

 

“Think of it this way, I’m the original, Veronica’s the remix, Rachel’s the acoustic version and Lance, you’re the trap remix”

 

“I am _not_ the trap remix of the family” Lance snapped.

 

“If you’re the original, what does that make Marco and Luis?” Allura pondered.

 

“The throwaways, obviously” Romelle answered.

 

“Face it, Lance, you’re just an off-brand me” Adam smirked “I mean, you’re even on a date with the Walmart version of my boyfriend”

 

Lance gasped. _“You take that back”_

 

“Dance-off, right now” Adam suggested, a sharp grin in place.

 

“Oh you are _so_ on” Lance grinned, grabbing Keith’s hand and dragging him to the dance floor.

 

  
*

 

  
*

 

  
Now Keith himself never really believed in fate; he was a firm believer that you created your own destiny. But after being put in the middle of one of Lance and Adam’s rivalries, he was starting to reconsider that theory. _Because it had to be fate that blessed him._

 

Keith already knew Adam was competitive (one time after losing Jenga, Adam took a hammer and smashed the blocks) but it seemed as though Lance was just as competitive. Not that Keith was complaining; _Lance was hot._

 

When Adam had first approached Keith about his younger brother, he was a bit apprehensive. But after seeing that yoga picture of him? Well, Keith was sold.

 

So being in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with a slightly tipsy Lance (who for the record was definitely showing off his... _flexibility)_ seemed almost like fate.

 

Keith glanced over and it seemed like Shiro was having just as good of a time with his boyfriend. The two of them made eye contact and nodded solemnly—they could use the McClain brothers rivalry to their advantage sometimes.

 

As all things do, however, the dancing came to an end. Adam pouted in defeat after Lance all but bent himself in half.

 

“This competition is rigged” Adam protested “I have a bad back”

 

“You literally did a handstand like 20 minutes ago” Lance reminded him.

 

“I also...hurt my arm” He tried again.

 

“Babe,” Shiro deadpanned “I’m _missing_ my arm”

 

“You have a prosthetic” He protested before sighing “But I see your point. I guess Lance isn’t that bad of a dancer after all”

 

Shiro tried to cheer up his boyfriend “Wanna go make out in a dark corner?”

 

“Oh _hell_ yeah”

 

Keith wrinkled his nose, that was not an image he wanted to envision ever.

 

“Ew,” Lance echoed his thoughts.

 

“Wanna do some shots?” Keith suggested.

 

“I like the way you think”

 

*

 

*

 

It’d been a long time since Lance got drunk. Not tipsy, not buzzed, but full-fledged drunk. _The single father life did that to a guy._ So you had to understand, that when Keith suggested they leave in favour of an adventure together, Lance thought it was a _great_ idea.

 

“So where are we going?” Lance asked after a few seconds of walking down the street.

 

“I have no idea” Keith answered.

 

Lance thought for a moment before shrugging. “Alright”

 

A couple of minutes later, they came across a restaurant. It had an ‘open 24 hours’ sign flickering in the window. The place—well to be completely honest it looked like a wreck. It was dark, dingy and a little suspicious.

 

Keith looked between the restaurant and Lance, raising an eyebrow as if to say _“Wanna go?”_

 

“I could eat”

 

So they did.

 

Thankfully, the inside of the place was nicer than the outside. It was almost homey, in a way.

 

After finding a seat, a tired looking waitress came over to take their orders. They both got waffles. And when the waffles arrived? They were heavenly. But that could’ve been the alcohol talking.

 

“Y’know, I’m having a really great time with you,” Keith said.

 

“No way” Lance exclaimed “I’m having a great time with you too”

 

“Really?” Keith perked up “You don’t think I’m too standoffish, do you? That’s normally what happens”

 

 _“Really, really”_ Lance nodded “You’ve been so nice to me”

 

“Oh,” Keith looked mildly surprised “Well, thanks. You’re nice too”

 

“That’s so sweet, thank you, Keith”

 

Things were going really good, up until it was time for the bill.

 

“Psst, Keith, _psst,_ c’mere” Lance beckoned. Keith leaned across the table and cupped his ear.

 

“I don’t have any money” Lance admitted.

 

Keith froze. “Me neither. _Shit”_

 

“Don’t worry about it, I got this” Lance waved off his concern.

 

“How?”

 

“I’m gonna propose to you”

 

“But Lance it’s only our first date” He teased.

 

 _“Haha”_ Lance deadpanned “You should be a comedian”

 

“Alright, I’m waiting” Keith sat back “There’s no way this will work”

 

“Pidge and I do this all the time”

 

“Should I be concerned?”

 

Lance ignored him in favour of grabbing a salt shaker. He slowly got down on one knee and held it out with a grin.

 

“Keith- _Something_ -Kogane, will you marry me?”

 

“I guess so” He shrugged, taking the salt shaker from Lance.

 

“You hear that folks?” Lance shouted, despite the fact that the only one present was the waitress, “He said yes!”

 

“He said _‘I guess so’_ ” The waitress furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“But did you hear a no?” Lance countered.

 

“You proposed with a salt shaker” She frowned, looking even more tired than she had prior.

 

“The ultimate symbol of high blood pressure _and_ affection” Lance nodded.

 

“That doesn’t even— _you know what?_ Whatever” She shook her head “Congratulations”

 

“So-” Keith piped up “-our meal’s free now right?”

 

“If that’s what it takes to make you leave, then sure”

 

“Told you,” Lance said as they gathered their things and walked out the door _“Worked like a charm”_

 

*

 

*

 

“I can’t believe you guys ran away from us” Shiro exclaimed “I had to call Pidge in the middle of the night to track your phones”

 

“How resourceful of you” Keith drily complimented.

 

“What did you guys even do?” Adam pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“We ate waffles, I proposed to Keith, we talked about gel pens” Lance listed.

 

“I’m sorry” Adam interjected _“What?”_

 

“We talked about gel pens” Lance repeated “Keith likes the red ones, I like the blue ones”

 

“That’s great and all, but back to the proposal-”

 

“It was just for a free meal Adam, relax” Keith snorted.

 

 _“Ay dios mio”_ He heaved a sigh of relief.

 

“As...interesting as this has been, we really do need to get going,” Shiro said “It’s super late, Romelle and Allura went home ages ago”

 

They all made a beeline straight for Shiro’s car.

 

“Just drop me off with Lance,” Adam said “I’ll keep an eye on him”

 

“Aw Adam, this is why you’re my third favourite brother” Lance slyly smiled. It took a few seconds for the words to register in his head.

 

“You only have three brothers” He glared.

 

“He said what he said” Keith snickered.

 

First date with Keith? _Successful,_ Lance decided, _extremely successful._

 

*

 

*

 

Lance woke up with an intense headache.

 

 _“Ah fuck,_ my head”

 

And apparently so did Adam.

 

“Don’t swear in front of my kids” Lance shouted loud enough for Adam to hear from the couch.

 

“They’re not even up yet” Adam protested.

 

“Tio Adam I’ve said good morning to you five times” Lance heard Kieran say.

 

“I know that” Adam lied “I was just joking”

 

“I didn’t laugh” Ella commented.

 

Lance chuckled to himself, then groaned and held his head in his hands. He forgot just how bad hangovers could be.

 

Sluggishly, he got up. His morning routine took a few minutes longer than usual but before long he was dressed and ready for the day.

 

“Daddy!” Ella jumped off the couch the second she saw him.

 

“You excited for today?” Lance asked, pressing a chaste kiss on her forehead.

 

“I love the zoo” She smiled. That was an understatement. When Luis and Lisa had offered to take the twins with them and their own kids to the zoo this weekend, Ella had all but jumped on the kitchen counter and ripped her shirt off in excitement.

 

“I think the zoo stinks” Kieran frowned “Literally”

 

“You stink more” Ella stuck her tongue out.

 

“Oh yeah?” Kieran narrowed his eyes at her “Well I think rhinos are ugly”

 

“He did _not_ just go there” Adam gasped. Lance was a bit worried honestly, rhinos were Ella’s absolute favourite animal. Quite frankly the girl was obsessed with them.

 

“Y’know what Kieran? _You’re_ _ugly_ ” the girl’s usual soft look was gone in favour of a hardened glare.

 

“Ella!” Lance admonished.

 

“What?” Ella feigned innocence “I thought he already knew”

 

“We’re _twins,_ genius” Kieran snapped.

 

“Not identical” Ella’s voice lowered, “Thankfully”

 

Lance ignored Kieran’s protests “That’s enough guys. Besides, you’re both my own flesh and blood; that makes you gorgeous by default”

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, _flaquito”_ Adam snorted.

 

“Shut up” He snapped back, wincing when his head pounds.

 

“Are you okay daddy? Are you sick?” Ella asked.

 

“A little bit, angel” He nodded.

 

“What happened last night?” Kieran asked.

 

Lance froze, ignoring Adam’s laugh. “I was...poisoned”

 

The twins gasped in unison. “By who?”

 

“By...Tio Adam”

 

Adam was no longer laughing.

 

“Tio Adam that’s not nice” Ella frowned.

 

“You know that now E and I have to avenge papa, right?” Kieran informed his uncle.

 

Adam blinked. “I-”

 

 _“Alexa,”_ Kieran called out to the machine “How do I poison someone?”

 

Adam went pale and Lance burst out laughing.

 

“Searching for poison--here’s what I found” Alexa replied back monotonously _“Rodenticides, colloquially rat poison, are typically non-specific pest control chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents._ Would you like me to order some?”

 

“Yes, Alexa” Kieran nodded eagerly.

 

“Ordering _Tomcat; Mouse and Rat Liquid Poison_ off of Amazon to Lance McClain”

 

Adam looked petrified.

 

“Alexa” Lance sighed “Cancel order”

 

_“Order cancelled”_

 

“Oh thank god” Adam let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Sunshine, you can’t give Tio Adam rat poison, he’d probably die” Lance explained.

 

“Oh,” The boy frowned “That’s not good”

 

“No, it’s not” Lance agreed.

 

“I feel unsafe” Adam informed everyone.

 

“I’m making arepas for breakfast” Lance offered. “The same way Aliana’s mom does”

 

Adam thought for a moment “My hunger outweighs my safety. Let’s get those arepas going, chop-chop Lance”

 

“Chop-chop dad” Ella repeated.

 

“Chop-chop _Lance,”_ Kieran said.

 

Lance shook his head with a fond smile before heading into the kitchen.

 

*

 

*

 

“Oh, hold on a second, my phone’s ringing,” Adam said “It’s my brother”

 

“Lance?” Keith looked up.

 

“I have more than one brother” Adam teased before answering “Hey Luis.”

 

“How big exactly is their family?” Keith asked Shiro.

 

“Luis is the oldest, then Marcos, then Adam, then Veronica, then Rachel, then Lance”

 

“That’s...slightly terrifying”

 

“You’re telling me” Shiro snorted “I still haven’t met them all yet, only Lance and Veronica”

 

“Oh shit,” Keith winced “I guess now that Lance and I are together that means I’ll have to meet them too”

 

“You really like him, don’t you?” Shiro smiled.

 

“I mean he’s kind of annoying and he talks too much” Keith absentmindedly smiled.

 

“But you still think he’s pretty?”

 

“Well _damn,_ Shiro, I’m not blind” Keith smirked, “But yeah, I like him. A lot. It’s actually kinda crazy how much I like him already”

 

“You guys are good together” Shiro clasped a hand on his little brother’s shoulder.

 

“Yeah,” he smiled “We are”

 

“So there’s a bit of an issue” Adam announced after he hung up.

 

“And that would be?”

 

“Lance’s yoga class is running late which means he can’t pick up the twins” Adam shared a look with Shiro that Keith couldn’t decipher “So Luis is dropping them off here”

 

“Oh,” Shiro winced.

 

“The twins?” Keith echoed. What twins?

 

“My niece and nephew” Adam side-eyed Shiro.

 

“So what’s the issue? Just let him drop them off here, contrary to popular belief I actually like kids” Keith raised an eyebrow.

 

“I’m calling Lance,” Adam told Shiro, whipping out his phone again and dialling.

 

“Good idea” Shiro nodded.

 

Keith sat there in disbelief. What the hell was their problem? Why were they acting so weird?

 

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Adam asked. Keith couldn’t hear Lance’s answer but he assumed it was positive based on how Adam replied back with _“Okay if you’re sure”_ before hanging up.

 

“They’ll be here in half an hour,” Adam said.

 

“This should be interesting” Shiro mumbled.

 

Sometimes Keith really didn’t understand those two. But hey, at least he’d see Lance later.

 

*

 

*

 

Whoever's kids these were, they must’ve been beautiful, because Ella and Kieran, as he heard Adam call them, were probably the cutest kids Keith had ever seen.

 

“Tio Adam!” Ella exclaimed “I saw three rhinos today”

 

“Impressive” He grinned, picking her up.

 

“How was the zoo, Kieran?” Shiro asked the little boy.

 

“I slipped in Nadia’s vomit” The kid grumbled.

 

“It was _so_ funny” Ella laughed, making all three adults chuckle.

 

“I know I have to love her because she’s my prima, but Nadia’s kind of gross” Kieran’s nose wrinkled.

 

“It’s cause she’s a baby” Adam explained “Babies are always gross”

 

“Were we gross?” Ella asked.

 

“The grossest” Adam smiled.

 

Keith could immediately see the resemblance between the twins and Adam. They had many of the same features, but he couldn’t help but notice how the twins had almost the exact same skin colour as Lance; a tad bit lighter than Adam’s.

 

“Hello there mister,” Kieran walked up to Keith “Who are you?”

 

“I’m Shiro’s brother, Keith”

 

The boy’s eyes lit up in recognition “You’re our new pet”

 

“What?” Keith blinked.

 

“Kieran black magic isn’t real” Ella huffed “You can’t turn dad’s boyfriend into a dog”

 

“But I stole one of Tio Adam’s books and it had spells in it”

 

 _“That’s where my copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire went!”_ Adam exclaimed.

 

“Kieran,” Shiro knelt down in front of him “Those aren’t instructional manuals, those are children’s books. They’re fake”

 

“Harry Potter is a timeless classic, not a ‘ _children’s book’_ Takashi” Adam snapped.

 

Normally, Keith would find this scene hilarious for countless reasons. However, at the moment, he was stuck on one thing Ella said— _“You can’t turn dad’s boyfriend into a dog”_. Unless Keith was unknowingly dating another McClain, that had to mean-

 

_“Lance has kids?!”_

 

The room froze.

 

“...Surprise?” Adam tried.

 

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Keith frowned.

 

“Well to be fair, this isn’t a good first date topic,” Shiro said “More of a third date conversation at least”

 

Keith supposed he wasn’t wrong, but he still couldn’t help but wish Lance would’ve divulged this information earlier. At least he was right about one thing: the twins' dad was beautiful. _But who was their mom?_

 

“Shiro, can you take the kids to the kitchen for ice cream or something?” Adam asked. His boyfriend nodded and took them out of the room without another word.

 

“I just—why didn’t he tell me?” Keith tilted his head.

 

“Lance hasn’t had the best track record with dating—not after he drops the kid bomb at least” Adam sighed, sitting down on the couch. Keith followed him.

 

“What exactly does that mean?”

 

“I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but I think it’ll help you understand my brother better” Adam started “Basically, he and this girl had the twins when they were like 19, but then something happened and the girl’s not in the picture anymore. So once the twins grew up a little bit more, Lance got back into the dating scene. It was hard for him at first—I don’t think his heart was ever really in it”

 

Keith assumed the twins’ mom had abandoned them. It was a pretty shitty thing to do, but unfortunately, not uncommon—he would know firsthand.

 

“His first encounter was with this guy, Trevor. They were on like their second date I think, and Lance explains the situation to him. Trevor excuses himself to the washroom and just...never comes back. Left Lance with the bill and everything”

 

“What an asshole” Keith snapped.

 

“My thoughts exactly” Adam agreed.

 

How could anyone do that to Lance, of all people? The guy was so sweet, you couldn’t help but like him. At least that’s what Keith thought.

 

“And then he was with this girl Olivia, and honestly things were going really well for them. Finally he decides to tell her, and initially, things were fine—she didn’t mind. She tried, she really did, but at the end of the day, she just...couldn’t handle the lifestyle I guess. Having kids is serious and I don’t think she realized that until it was too late”

 

Keith looked down. Would he hurt Lance like Olivia?

 

No.

 

He wouldn’t.

 

If there’s anything Keith was sure of, was that he wasn’t a quitter. He liked Lance, a fucking lot. Nothing could change that. Never.

 

“Well, I guess I should start getting to know the twins more, huh?” Keith smiled.

 

Adam had a proud look on his face. “I guess you should”

 

*

 

*

 

A knock at the door almost made Lance lose his footing, but he was able to catch himself at the last second.

 

“It’s open” He called out.

 

He heard many different pairs of footsteps enter the apartment.

 

“We’re almost done, just wait in the kitchen for me,” Lance said, without turning his attention away from his yoga class.

 

“Alright, ladies so now we’re gonna do the same thing, only with our left leg this time. Have your right foot almost touch your head, then stick your left leg straight in the air, and we’re holding that for ten seconds”

 

The group of four women followed his instructions and did the same position as him. As he counted to ten out loud he heard a familiar voice in the kitchen mutter _“Holy shit, that’s hot”_

 

 _So Keith stuck around after all, huh?_ Lance smiled at the thought.

 

“-and that’s 10. Great job today guys, remember to keep practicing those exercises I sent you. See you next week” Lance grinned. Within a few minutes, everyone had cleared out. Lance grabbed his towel off the couch and wrapped it around his neck, making his way over to the kitchen.

 

“Put a shirt on, flaquito” Adam wrinkled his nose.

 

Lance rolled his eyes and whipped his towel at Adam’s head, and as always, hitting the target.

 

“Hola papa,” Kieran smiled, wrapping his arms around Lance’s lower body. He knelt down to give the boy a proper hug.

 

Lance sniffed him. “Sunshine, why do you smell like vomit?”

 

“He slipped in Nadia’s vomit at the zoo” Ella looked way too happy at that.

 

“Hey, it’s okay” Lance patted the boy’s head “One time your Tia Rachel peed on the floor and Tio Adam ended up face-planting in it”

 

“Vomit doesn’t seem so bad after all” Kieran decided.

 

“I hate you,” Adam hissed, ignoring Shiro and Keith, who were most definitely laughing at his expense.

 

“Te amo, gordito” Lance fluttered his eyelashes.

 

“Just go talk to Keith already” Adam rolled his eyes, shoving the two men away. Lance beckoned Keith to follow him to his bedroom so he could get dressed.

 

“So” Keith started, once he was seated on the bed “You’re a dad”

 

“Yeah,” Lance winced as he pulled on a blue t-shirt “I’m really sorry about that—it’s just hard to talk about sometimes. People aren’t always so open-minded. But you did come over, so that has to mean something, right?”

 

“It’s not a dealbreaker if that’s what you’re asking” Keith smiled.

 

“Oh, thank god” Lance let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and quickly changed into them in the washroom.

 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this yet, but I _really_ like you, Lance. It’s gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me. I’ve been told I’m extremely persistent”

 

“I really like you too” Lance softly smiled back.

 

“Good. Then let’s make this thing between us work. I’m in it for the long-haul”

 

Lance leaned down and kissed him. It was rushed, messy, Keith's lips were slightly chapped,  _and it was perfect._ Then he pulled back a few inches, mouth contorting into a grin, “So am I”

 

*

 

*

 

“Hey guys,” Lance smiled, taking a seat at the table next to Lotor.

 

“You’re late” Ezor pointed out with a wicked grin “And your buttons are done up wrong”

 

“Shit,” Lance cursed, immediately fixing it “I should’ve known not to trust that mullethead with anything fashion related”

 

“So who’s this _mullethead?”_ Zethrid asked, wrapping an arm around Ezor’s shoulders.

 

“I may or may not have a boyfriend” Lance bit his lip to hold back a grin.

 

“Who is it?” Lotor looked intrigued.

 

“My brother’s boyfriend’s brother”

 

“The teacher?” Zethrid asked.

 

“Mhm,” He nodded.

“If he looks anything like Shiro, you’re a lucky man” Ezor winked.

 

“They’re adopted siblings but trust me, he’s hot”

 

This was his monthly meeting with what he called _‘The PTA moms and Lotor’_. There were actually six of them in total, but Angela was at her mother’s house with her son this weekend and Perry was on vacation with her daughter. Every single one of them was a young single parent; it was nice to have a support group.

 

“My last date was atrocious” Lotor almost pouted, “He said I was an asshole”

 

“Sometimes you _can_ be a bit of an asshole” Ezor shrugged “But we still love you”

 

“You’re just gonna have to wait until you find someone who loves you despite the fact you can be unbearable at times,” Lance said.

 

“I mean, _I_ did” Ezor pointed at Zethrid.

 

Zethrid kissed her cheek “Eh, debatable”

 

 _“Babe,”_ Ezor dramatically gasped.

 

Ezor and Zethrid had obviously met through the PTA as well. Both of them single moms; Ezor had a daughter named Aria and Zethrid had an adopted daughter named Narti. The two of them had developed a connection over time and now here they were: engaged and raising their family together.

 

“So, does he know about the twins yet?” Ezor asked.

 

“Yeah, actually, and they get along great” Lance said before frowning “Almost _too_ great”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lotor asked.

 

“The other day, Kieran tried to pimp me out to Keith. For waffles”

 

_“Daddy, I want waffles for dinner,” Kieran said._

 

_“Did you ask if Keith wanted waffles?” Lance hummed._

 

_“Keith do you want waffles?” Kieran shouted across the room “If you say yes, I’ll lend you my dad for a month”_

 

_It was silent for a moment before Keith called back “...I could go for some waffles”_

 

“The kids got a knack for negotiation” Zethrid nodded, impressed.

 

“That’s one way to put it” Lance snorted.

 

“How long have you guys been dating,” Ezor asked.

 

“It’s only been like a week now. But guys I really like him. I could totally see myself falling in love with him”

 

“Lance, calm down” Lotor snorted “It’s a crush, not a terminal illness. Just enjoy it”

 

“You’re right” He nodded.

 

“Aren’t I always”

 

“This is why you don’t have a boyfriend”

 

“And to think, I almost thought my looks were enough to overshadow my less-than-average personality”

 

Lotor was important to Lance’s life, as much as the two liked to bicker. He was the only other single dad Lance knew and the two really helped each other. His daughter, Melora, was only one year older than Ella and Kieran, so the three of them enjoyed spending time together.

 

“I hate to admit it” Lance sighed “But yeah, you’re pretty enough that someone, somewhere, will overlook your asshole-tendencies”

 

“That just may be the single nicest thing you’ve ever said to me” Lotor snorted.

 

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. I’m just in a good mood”

 

“Cause of Keith?” Ezor smirked.

 

Lance nodded.

 

*

 

*

 

“Keith, babe, relax” Lance sighed.

 

“But I’m meeting _all_ your friends tonight”

 

“They’re gonna love you”

 

“You don’t know that”

 

“Keith you could literally be the devil himself and my friends wouldn’t care” Lance paused, “In fact, that actually might make them love you more. Maybe we _should_ tell them you’re the devil”

 

“And suddenly all my nerves are gone” Keith snorted.

 

“Good, because you have nothing to be nervous about” Lance kissed him.

 

“I think I’m ready to go” He nodded.

 

“Ella, Kieran, c’mon!” Lance shouted. The twins came rushing into the living room, each one dressed for the occasion. Everyone was going out to dinner tonight and insisted Lance bring Keith. Ella was in a pale pink sundress covered in flowers while Kieran wore jeans, a plaid shirt and a black cardigan.

 

“You guys look adorable” Lance cooed.

 

“We know”

 

“Confidence, I love it!”

 

The group left and Lance couldn’t help but notice how... _right_ it felt. It was like they were all a family and it warmed his heart because it didn’t seem like that dream was that far away.

 

The restaurant was chosen by Allura, apparently, she and Romelle had gone on their first date there.

 

Getting there was relatively easy, Kieran played with a toy while Ella chatted Keith’s ear off.

 

It was nice.

 

Keith helped Ella out of the car so Lance could help Kieran. The group of four entered the restaurant and immediately made a beeline for their friends. Everyone except for Shiro and Adam was already there.

 

Introductions went nicely and Lance was certain that everyone liked Keith. And he was also certain that Keith liked everyone if the relaxed expression was anything to go by.

 

“Hey, sorry we’re late, Takashi couldn’t find his arm” Adam exclaimed as soon as the two of them joined the table.

 

“I left it in the washroom again” Shiro sheepishly said.

 

“I still don’t know why I can’t have a bionic arm like Uncle Shiro” Kieran grumbled.

 

 _“Kieran!”_ Lance chided.

 

“It’s okay” Shiro shrugged with a smile.

 

“Is it something I said?” Kieran asked.

 

Lance sighed. “It’s good to be curious but sometimes you have to think before you speak”

 

“That’s rich coming from you” Keith muttered under his breath.

 

“I’m sorry Uncle Shiro, you can keep your bionic arm, it makes you special” Kieran kissed his own hand before reaching over and placing it on top of the prosthetic. Shiro looked something akin to wonder and Lance smiled warmly. Sometimes he worried he was terrible at raising kids, but it was moments like these that reminded him that they were gonna be fine.

 

Dinner went by without a hitch, which was rare for the group; Lance assumed everyone wanted to make a good impression with Keith.

 

By the time dessert came around, everyone was falling into easy conversations with one another. And Lance loved it. He could only imagine what life would be like if it was always like this. He was _happy._

 

It was complete and utter bliss really. Keith and the kids got along perfectly, Keith and his friends meshed nicely, Keith and his older brother—well, they didn’t hate each other.

 

This life he was living? It came as a surprise to him; he’d never envisioned this. _But goddamn if he wasn’t happy with it._

 

“I hate to interrupt” Allura spoke up “But I actually have something important I wanted to do, and I wanted all of you here to witness it”

 

The moment she got out of her seat and kneeled on the floor in front of Romelle, well, everyone went quiet.

 

“I love you, _so_ much my dear. We’ve been talking about doing this for the longest time and I know we were planning to wait a little longer but—well I just couldn’t help myself. You’re my person Romelle and I’d be delighted if you’d spend the rest of your life with me, as my wife” Allura pulled out a ring box, snapping it open to reveal a diamond ring. Romelle sat there stunned, a grin spreading across her entire face.

 

“Are you kidding me? I’d be crazy to say no” Romelle dipped down to kiss her, “I love you”

 

“Woohoo!” Adam kicked off the cheering “Go Allura, upgrade to wife status!”

 

The entire restaurant clapped for them, but Lance only paid attention to his friends— _no,_ family. Hunk was crying while Shay rubbed her hand up and down his back comfortingly, Adam was hollering loudly as Shiro tried to quiet him down while still maintaining an excited grin himself, Keith was clapping happily while also explaining just _what the hell_ happened to the confused twins, and even Pidge was cracking a heartwarming smile.

 

This may not have been the life he planned for himself, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

"Hey Lance?" Keith whispered.

 

"Hm?"

 

"Your proposal was better"

 

He _really_ wouldn't have it any other way.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> flaquito: Spanish term of endearment (like skinny or tiny basically)  
> gordito: Spanish term of endearment (kinda like 'little fat one'? idk we just kinda use it)
> 
> do u see what I did there? Lance and Keith may not be rivals in this story but Ella and Crystal sure are ;)


	3. You Need a Lifeline, Go On and Use Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly I'm so slow at updating but I promise I won't abandon this story. even if I get tired of writing it I'll make sure to post a conclusion (though I really don't think it'll ever come to that, I'm just slow sksakaska)

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you had a sister” Lance grumbled.

 

“For the record, Takashi told me about Acxa on like our second date” Adam bragged.

 

“To be fair, you brought her up first” Shiro pointed out “You stalked me online and found her”

 

“Same difference” Adam rebuked.

 

“I hate to say it, but I agree with my brother” Lance wrinkled his nose “Why didn’t you mention her at all? We’ve been together over a month now”

 

“I just—forgot, I guess” Keith admitted “I promise I wasn’t trying to hide anything”

 

“He’s lying” Adam called out. Lance smacked him upside the head.

 

“Do you have any other secret siblings?” Lance asked, smiling when Keith shook his head, “Then all’s forgiven”

 

“That’s it?” Adam frowned “You’re not gonna, I don’t know, raise your voice?”

 

“No” Lance furrowed his eyebrows “Why do you want us to fight?”

 

Adam shrugged. “I’m starting to get bored, Acxa lives so far away”

 

“She’s...recluse” Shiro admitted.

 

Keith snorted. “She’s antisocial”

 

“She’s definitely your sister” Lance mumbled, wincing when Keith elbowed him.

 

“Oh, hey Keith,” Shiro started “What’re we doing for your birthday?”

 

“A little last minute huh?” Keith snorted. Well, he wasn’t wrong considering his birthday was in three days.

 

“Everyone’s coming to my place to celebrate our favourite mullethead” Lance smiled.

 

“Actually,” Adam interjected “Paul, the janitor at Garrison High, is my favourite mullethead. Keith’s more my second choice”

 

“That’s fine,” Keith waved him off slyly “You’re not even in my top ten favourite Adam’s”

 

Lances phone rang, pulling him away from the conversation. Checking caller ID, he answered. “What’s up, V?”

 

“Before I say what I’m about to say, promise you won’t freak out”

 

“I promise I won’t freak out” Lance furrowed his eyebrows, a small amused smile gracing his lips.

 

“I...may have just realized that I don’t have Kieran”

 

His smile dropped. _“What?”_

 

“Kieran’s not here” He could almost see Veronica’s sheepish wince.

 

“Then where is he?” He exclaimed, garnering the attention of everyone in the vehicle.

 

“Where’s who?” Keith asked.

 

“Veronica lost Kieran!”

 

_“Hey!_ You said you wouldn’t freak out” She protested “And I didn’t lose him—I just never had him”

 

“Veronica, I only have two kids” Lance furrowed his eyebrows “How the fuck didn’t you notice half of them was missing?”

 

“Listen, I’m sorry okay? I’m gonna look for him, he has to be around here somewhere.... _right?”_ She didn’t sound too sure of herself but she hung up before Lance could say anything.

 

“Oh god, he’s probably been kidnapped. He’s probably in Puerto Rico by now and they’ve probably changed his appearance already. I bet they made him a redhead! Someone call the police and report a missing ginger Latino-“ Lance nervously rambled.

 

“Uh, Lance?” Keith interrupted.

 

“What?”

 

“I found Kieran”

 

Lance followed Keith’s lead and turned around in his seat to peer into the back of the car. Lo and behold, Kieran lay unharmed and asleep, swaddled in dirty car blankets.

 

Lance blinked. “Why is my son in Shiro’s trunk?”

 

“I swear I didn’t put him there” Shiro exclaimed.

 

“Shouldn’t you call your sister back?” Keith suggested, “Let her know he’s okay?”

 

Lance and Adam shook their heads simultaneously.

 

“...Alright then” Keith shrugged.

 

Lance reached towards the boy and lightly tapped his head. Kieran shot up immediately, pulling out a nerf-gun and shooting Lance in the forehead.

 

Everyone froze.

 

_“What the fuck?”_ Shiro whispered to himself, looking like he regretted all the life choices that led him to this moment.

 

“He shot me” Lance looked on the verge of tears “My own _flesh and blood,_ shot me in broad daylight”

 

“At least he has good aim” Adam tried.

 

“You’re not cyborgs” Kieran frowned.

 

“Shiro might as well be” Keith ducked as Adam reached back to try and swat him.

 

“Sunshine, can you _please_ tell us what’s going on?” Lance asked.

 

“Ella told me that while we were with Tia Veronica, you guys were going to fight cyborgs—so I came to help, as backup”

 

“I admire the fact that you planned to destroy cyborgs with a nerf-gun” Adam admitted.

 

“....Ella told me it was a bazooka”

 

“I’m sorry— _what?”_ Shiro looked extremely distressed.

 

“He tried to blow me up” Lance shouted.

 

“Where’d you learn to aim that thing?” Keith had to ask.

 

“Really Keith? That’s all you have to say about this?” Shiro frowned.

 

“...Yeah”

 

“This is why my hair’s white”

 

“I thought Tio Adam said he dyed your hair in your sleep” Kieran piped up.

 

“You told me Keith did it!” Shiro shot an accusing look at Adam.

 

He winced. _“Okay,_ so I might’ve lied”

 

“I told you I didn’t do it,” Keith said offhandedly.

 

“I think we just drove past the exit” Lance interjected, pointing to the ramp they missed.

 

“Oh my god” Shiro blanched “What do I do?”

 

“Pull a U-turn” Keith suggested.

 

“Do not pull a U-turn Takashi, this is a one-way street” Adam snapped.

 

“I’m pulling a U-turn” Shiro nervously exclaimed.

 

_“Takashi, I swear to god-”_ Adam was cut off as his boyfriend quickly swerved the car, hitting the gas and making a breakaway to the ramp.

 

“I think I’m gonna be sick” Lance looked green.

 

“If you throw up on me I _will_ break up with you” Keith glared.

 

“This is a disaster” Adam muttered “Why can’t we have just one normal outing, I’m way too old and way too gay for this”

 

“The chaos is endearing” Keith shrugged.

 

“Endearing _my ass_ —Takashi, love, if you do not pull over right now I’m jumping out” Adam scowled. Shiro immediately slammed on the brakes.

 

“I’ll be right back” Lance winced, holding a hand up to his mouth and quickly getting out of the car. Keith fondly watched as he ran into the nearby field and started heaving. Yep, that’s his boyfriend alright.

 

“Uncle Shiro,” Keiran spoke up “Can we get chicken nuggets after dad stops throwing up?”

 

The man slowly nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea”

 

*

 

*

 

Standing there in the doorway, stuck in a borderline suffocating headlock, Lance started to question how exactly he got himself in that situation.

 

“Lance,” Keith shouted in what closely resembled exasperation (later Lance would question how Keith had the _audacity_ to be annoyed when _“I was literally dying. I couldn’t breath”_ ), “I told you to wait for us”

 

_Oh right,_ that was how he ended up there.

 

After they’d stopped for some well-deserved food, they continued on to Acxa’s house. A mere 10 minutes later, they were pulling into her driveway.

 

“Lance, listen to me” Keith had said “Acxa’s...weird when it comes to strangers. Do not go up to the door without me or Shiro—Adam that goes for you too”

 

“Aw, you do care about me” Adam teased.

 

Keith didn’t miss a beat “On second thought, Adam why don’t you go on ahead without us”

 

As the two started bickering, Shiro went to help Kieran get out of the trunk of his car. Lance decided that he’d get a head start and ring the doorbell. Besides—how weird could someone be with strangers?

 

“Keith?” The woman who held Lance’s life in her hands asked, “What’re you doing here?”

 

“Shiro and I brought our boyfriends, they wanted to meet you” He explained.

 

“I’m guessing the man I have in a headlock isn’t a burglar then, huh?” Acxa slumped, loosening her hold. Lance immediately sucked in a huge gulp of air—he never noticed how good oxygen was until it was gone.

 

“Nope, not a burglar” Keith confirmed. Shiro and Adam made their way up with Kieran, joining the scene.

 

“Who’s kid is that?”

 

Lance tentatively raised his hand. Acxa released him.

 

“You’re a dad?” She asked.

 

“I have twins, this one’s Kieran and the other’s Ella,” He said.

 

Acxa paused for a moment before shrugging “Makes sense that Shiro would date a single dad, he’s basically already a dad himself”

 

“Exactly, I— _wait what?”_ Lance frowned.

 

“What do you mean I’m already a dad?” Shiro asked. Adam and Keith both jabbed an elbow into him as if to say _‘priorities, Shiro’,_ “Oh, I mean—I’m not dating _Lance”_

 

“Oh,” Acxa frowned.

 

“Lance is my boyfriend, Shiro’s dating Adam” Keith explained, pointing to a frightened Adam.

 

“Does that mean you thought I was dating Keith?” He screeched. Keith blanched.

 

“Oh my god, you thought I was dating Adam” He looked horrified.

 

“I just assumed Shiro would date the one with nicer legs” Acxa shrugged, clearly unaware of the dynamite she’d ignited.

 

“You think I have nice legs?” Lance asked. At Acxa’s nod, he grinned, almost touched, _“Thank you”_

 

“What’s wrong with my legs?” Adam frowned.

 

“Nothing, his are just better,” She said. Shiro absentmindedly nodded in acknowledgement.

 

_“Babe,”_ Adam gasped “What are you even dating me for?”

 

“Clearly not your legs” Keith snorted.

 

Lance took a moment to examine Acxa closer. She definitely lived up to expectations; all Broganes were hot apparently.

 

She was pretty, _(a little too)_ strong, and had already started discourse with Adam. _Who did that remind him of?_

 

“Your shoulders” Shiro concluded “Their broadness makes me weak in the knees”

 

Adam looked on the verge of tears. “That was so sweet”

 

_Actually, it was like looking in a foggy mirror—he could barely make out who it was but at the same time he already knew._

 

Any further comments were halted by Kieran’s announcement.“I have to poop”

 

_Seriously, the name was on the tip of his tongue..._

 

Adam gaped. “Oh, so when he says he has to shit, you guys find it endearing, but when I say it, I get an HR report filed against me-”

 

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. _“Veronica!”_

 

“Huh?” Adam tilted his head in confusion “What about her?”

 

It was obvious now. Acxa reminded him of V. _Speaking of..._

 

“Acxa,” Lance started with a sly smile “Are you single?”

 

“Are you hitting on my sister?” Keith snorted. Lance rolled his eyes.

 

“Uh, yeah” she slowly confirmed.

 

“Awesome”

 

_Lance was totally setting Veronica up with her._

 

*

 

*

 

“Happy birthday, mullet” Lance murmured, leaning over and pressing a chaste kiss to Keith’s lips. A small, tired smile appeared on the latter’s face.

 

“Thank you, babe”

 

“How do you feel, old man?”

 

“I feel like I’m one year closer to death” Keith paused, “Also like I’m in the mood for cake”

 

“You can’t have cake for breakfast, Keith”

 

“And why the hell not?”

 

Lance froze. “Y’know, I don’t actually have an answer for that. Guess we’re having cake for breakfast”

 

The bedroom door swung open, two tiny bodies swarming the couple in bed.

 

“Happy birthday Keith!” Kieran gave him a tight hug.

 

Ella kissed his forehead quickly “Happy birthday Keith, what did you get me?”

 

“El, that’s not how it works” Lance chuckled, pulling the kids up onto the bed.

 

“Oh,” she frowned.

 

“Your dad said we can have cake for breakfast,” Keith told them.

 

“I call a corner piece!” Keiran exclaimed.

 

“Me too,” Ella said.

 

“Only one of us can have a corner piece, E, and it’s me. I called dibs”

 

Ella got a glint in her eye. “Dibs don’t count if I cut myself the corner piece first”

 

Before Lance could say _‘Adam’s the worst McClain’_ , Ella had gotten up and sprinted out of the room, presumably into the kitchen.

 

Kieran gasped. “Not fair!”

 

“Life’s not fair” was all Ella shouted back.

 

“I _really_ need to stop letting Pidge babysit” Lance frowned. And then his face paled “Ella please tell me you didn’t grab a knife out of the drawer”

 

Silence, and then “...you told me lying’s bad, so I’m not saying anything”

 

“Angel, _no!”_ Lance exclaimed, hopping out of bed and scurrying to the kitchen. A faint _“Put the butcher knife down, sweetie”_ could be heard from the bedroom.

 

Keith started to laugh but stopped when a small pair of arms wrapped around his torso. “Kieran?”

 

The boy in question tightened his grip. “I’m really glad you thought my dad had a nice butt”

 

Keith spluttered, slightly mortified. _Who told him that?_

 

_Who was he kidding, that had Adam written all over it._

 

“Because if you didn’t” the boy continued, “then you wouldn’t have started dating daddy. And then he would’ve been sad today”

 

“Why would he be sad?” He couldn’t help but ask.

 

“Me and Ella’s birthday is in—” the boy held up a hand and counted his fingers “—five days”

 

Keith didn’t get it. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

 

“Yeah, but it also makes him sad ‘cause it’s the same day mommy left us”

 

The silence that followed was almost suffocating. _God,_ Keith thought, _the poor kids._ It wasn’t fair to them, having their birthday, arguably the most important day of the year, forever associated with the day their mom up and left.

 

“I don’t want your dad to be sad” Keith found himself saying.

 

Kieran nodded in agreement.

 

“So, why don’t we make sure to give him extra love this week?” Keith suggested.

 

“I can do that” Kieran smiled.

 

“Why don’t we go hug him right now?”

 

Kieran lit up at the idea and grabbed Keith’s hand, intertwining his tiny fingers with Keith’s larger ones and pulling the man with him out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. Lance stood at the counter with Ella propped up on his hip, slicing pieces of cake and plating them.

 

The two snuck up behind him and tackled him into an almost-suffocating hug. Lance laughed, maneuvering around to hug them back.

 

Standing in the middle of Lance’s kitchen, the four of them squished together in an embrace, Keith couldn’t help but grin.

 

_It was safe to say that this was probably the best birthday he’d ever had._

 

*

 

*

 

“Halloween’s coming up soon” Pidge announced, popping another chip into her mouth.

 

Everyone was gathered in Lance’s apartment for Keith’s birthday.

 

“Does anyone have a costume picked out yet?” Shay asked, head propped up on Hunk’s shoulder.

 

Everyone shook their heads.

 

“Hey,” Romelle piped up “Why don’t we let the twins pick out our costumes?”

 

Allura raised her hand to agree with her fiance. “I like that idea”

 

“Same” Shiro nodded. Soon everyone was in agreement - the twins would choose what everyone was going to be.

 

“Ella, Kieran, c’mere” Lance called. The twins came running over, toys forgotten.

 

“Do you guys have Halloween costumes yet?” Hunk asked.

 

“I’m gonna be Lilo and Kieran’s gonna be Stitch” Ella explained. Lance almost cooed on the spot, he’d already bought the costumes for them— _they were so cute._

 

“That’s so adorable,” Pidge said “It’s making me sick”

 

“How would you two like to pick out our costumes too?” Allura asked them.

 

“And you guys have to be whatever we choose?” Kieran raised an eyebrow.

 

Adam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. _“Yes”_

 

“Auntie Allura you’re gonna be Kida” Ella exclaimed, “And Auntie Romelle you’re Sleeping Beauty!”

 

“Uncle Hunk can be Woody and Auntie Pidge can be Buzz” Kieran added.

 

“Auntie Shay can be Esmeralda and Uncle Shiro you’re Mr.Incredible”

 

“Keith you’re Prince Eric and daddy you can be, _uh,_ a cat?”

 

“I’ll be the best cat you’ve ever seen” Lance nodded solemnly.

 

“You guys forgot me” Adam scowled.

 

“Tio Adam, you can be Rumpelstiltskin” Ella smiled sweetly.

 

Adam blinked. “Are you kidding me?”

 

“Nope” Kieran matched his sister’s smile “Like the one from Shrek”

 

“I hate you demons”

 

“I thought _I_ was the demon?” Keith mused.

 

“All three of you— _demons”_ Adam hissed.

 

“Y’know,” Romelle said, “I think we’ve had like at least four demon summoning sessions at the cafe after hours now”

 

“What?” Hunk looked scared.

 

“Who’s _‘we’?”_ Keith asked.

 

“Me, Pidge, Lance, and Allura”

 

_“Lance?_  He told me he didn’t believe in that stuff” Keith glared.

 

“I could literally get possessed and I’d still deny the existence of the supernatural just to spite you” Lance grinned, leaning over to peck his cheek.

 

“Daddy, is Melora coming with us to Tio Luis and Tia Lisa’s house on Halloween?” Ella asked.

 

“Yes, angel”

 

“I love Mel, she’s so cool” She grinned.

 

Kieran shrugged. “She’s alright”

 

“Dude,” Pidge deadpanned “Last time I coloured with you guys, you drew a wedding between you and Melora”

 

Kieran’s eyes widened. “Yeah, you know what? I think I might be in love with her”

 

Lance had known for a while now. It was hard not to realize Kieran had a crush on the girl when he kept calling himself _“Mr.Melora Sinclair”._

 

The night continued on and there was nothing but love and friendship in the air. Lance absolutely adored these get-togethers, ones where everyone he cared about could interact and laugh and smile and just _relax._

 

“You guys aren’t actually gonna make me dress up like that thing from Shrek with the big red hair, right?” Adam looked stressed out “I mean, even Keith has better hair”

 

Well, everyone _but_ Adam could relax.

 

*

 

*

 

Watching Keith help the twins get into their costumes was pretty domestic, to say the least. It made Lance’s stomach flutter.

 

“Are you guys excited for tonight?” Keith asked.

 

“Yes!” The twins shouted in unison. Keith finished zipping up Kieran’s onesie and Lance smiled.

 

He had to admit, he picked the twins’ costumes out for a reason. Lilo and Stitch held a special place in his heart. That was his and Aliana’s movie. The movie they watched the night they finally got together, the movie that would forever be linked to one of the best days of Lance’s life.

 

_Lia,_ Lance thought, _if only you could see them now._

 

Speaking of Aliana, it was approaching the anniversary of her death. Lance felt guilty, knowing that the twins’ birthday wasn’t his sole focus on that day like it should be. Lance had tried his best to make sure November 4 was a happy day for the twins. In their earlier years, when Lance would still cry, he’d make sure to only do so behind closed doors. He made sure going to visit her grave was a semi-happy occasion for the kids; it wasn’t a reminder that she was gone to them so much as it was a chance to talk with her.

 

He hadn’t told Keith about Aliana yet, but he would have to soon. He deserved to know.

 

Maybe he could even bring Keith along to visit her grave.

 

“What’s going on inside that head of yours?” Keith came up behind Lance, wrapping his arms around his waist.

 

“Thinking about how sweaty I’m getting in this costume”

 

True to his word, Lance had dressed up as a cat. He donned a fuzzy, black cat onesie.

 

“I think you look cute”

 

“I appreciate the sentiment but that’s a fucking lie and you know it”

 

“The costume might be horrendous but your face is still cute” Keith shrugged.

 

Lance turned around in his arms, looking him up and down. “You make a hot prince”

 

“Are you sure the pants aren’t too tight?” Keith furrowed his eyebrows “Maybe I should change-”

 

_“NO!”_ Lance exclaimed, at least having the decency to look sheepish afterwards. Keith looked amused but made no move to change.

 

Lance pulled away, grabbing his phone off the dresser and beckoning Keith. “Picture time”

 

“You sound like a soccer mom”

 

“Oh so just because I happen to enjoy preserving memories, that makes me a middle-aged white woman?”

 

“Did I stutter?”

 

“Just for that, I’m taking double the amount of pictures” Lance scowled before cupping his hands around his mouth “Kids, c’mere, it’s time for pictures”

 

Lance took...a _lot_ of pictures. Some of just the twins, some with Keith, some with him and some with all four of them. And when the others showed up? Well, he took pictures with them too.

 

Not that anyone minded. They all understood Lance’s affinity with pictures, it was a direct result of losing Aliana. He’d realized just how precious time was and he wanted to capture as much of his kids’ lives as he could.

 

Sometimes it was almost like a coping mechanism, too. As if he was taking the pictures for Aliana, keeping them safe until she could finally view them and get a glimpse into the lives of her children. It made Lance feel less alone, in a way.

 

Everyone’s costumes were great. Allura, Romelle, Shiro and Shay were absolute showstoppers in theirs, Hunk and Pidge were rocking the adorable duo costume and Lance hadn’t stopped laughing since seeing Adam in his raggedy costume.

 

Soon enough, Lotor showed up with Melora. Lotor was dressed as Legolas, per Lance’s constant requests for the past five years, and Melora was dressed as Elsa.

 

The plan was for Lotor to drop off the kids at Luis’ house and meet up with everyone else at the party.

 

Lance kissed the twins and wished them luck, chuckling slightly as he heard Kieran tell Melora he thought her costume was pretty as the group left the apartment.

 

“I guess that’s our cue to go too,” Shiro said.

 

“Uh, no” Lance shook his head “I need to change first”

 

“You’re already in your costume though?” Keith frowned.

 

“You didn’t think I was actually going out in public like this?” Lance snorted.

 

Keith shrugged. “Kinda, yeah”

 

Lance rolled his eyes. He pulled down the onesie’s zipper, removed his arms from the sleeves and let it drop to the floor.

 

Keith’s jaw dropped as he watched Lance step out of the ridiculous costume, only to reveal a much hotter one. It was still a cat, per se, just instead of a cute-borderlining on ridiculous-onesie, it was a sleek black latex catsuit.

 

“That,” Pidge sighed “is _not_ a cat, Lance”

 

“Wait for it,” Lance winked, reaching into the suit and producing a matching cat mask. He carefully put it on, “Cute, right?”

 

“More like slightly inappropriate”

 

“Pidge please let me have this” Keith slapped a hand over the girl’s mouth “Lance, you look _great”_

 

“I don’t know how I feel about my little brother going out in public in that” Adam frowned.

 

Lance rolled his eyes. “You’re just saying that because you know I look better than you”

 

“Your kids harassed me into dressing like Rumpelstiltskin, Lance!” He hissed, “Meanwhile my boyfriend’s wearing spandex. Which I mean, is good for me because—wow have you ever seen thighs like that before—but how am I supposed to go out looking like _this_ when he looks like _that”_

 

“You owe me one for this” Lance grumbled, “Go change in my room, there’s an outfit laid out on the bed for you”

 

“You mean I don’t have to be Rumpelstiltskin?” Adam looked eternally grateful.

 

“No, you don’t have to be Rumpelstiltskin” He confirmed. Adam cheered before racing off to change.

 

“You let him off too easy,” Keith said.

 

“Trust me, I didn’t do it for him” Lance snorted “Just _imagine_ how much he would've been complaining tonight”

 

Everyone paled at the thought.

 

Adam came rushing back in, rags and wig exchanged for spandex.

 

“You got him a Mrs.Incredible costume?” Hunk laughed.

 

“I know my brother” was all Lance said.

 

The drive to the party wasn’t very long considering the club it was being held at was only a few blocks away. Lance was buzzing with excitement; it’d been so long since he actually looked forward to Halloween. When the twins were younger, Lance spent the day at home with them, but as they grew he started going back out for the holiday. Luis and Lisa were more than okay with taking care of a few extra kids; they’d partied themselves out before having kids—a luxury Lance didn’t have.

 

Lotor arrived a few minutes after them, but what he missed out on in time, he made up for in drinking. Seriously, it was like the man had never seen alcohol in his life.

 

“Are you, like, okay?” Hunk asked.

 

“I had another Tinder date yesterday” Lotor sighed, “He was even more of a pretentious asshole than I am”

 

“No offence, but that seems impossible,” Pidge said.

 

“That’s what I thought too” Lotor frowned “Turns out I’m not even the best at being the worst”

 

Lance’s shoulder sagged slightly. He really did feel bad for the man; he knew exactly what it was like to be lonely, what it was like to raise kids alone, what it was like to fall asleep alone every single night. It sucked.

 

“I don’t know if it’ll help at all,” Keith shrugged “But that cowboy in the corner’s been eyeing you for the past few minutes”

 

“Talk to him” Shiro encouraged.

 

“I _do_ like southern hospitality” Lotor hummed.

 

“Not to mention the horses” Romelle added.

 

Allura furrowed her eyebrows. “You guys do understand that it’s Halloween, right? It’s a costume”

 

“I’m gonna go talk to him” Lotor decided. After one more shot of liquid courage and a few encouraging words from the group, he made his way over to the guy.

 

Within a couple minutes, the guy had Lotor throwing his head back in laughter, a small smile gracing his lips as he watched the seemingly-steely man act so freely.

 

“I’m thinking a rustic wedding” Adam grinned “Reception in a barn and mason jars everywhere”

 

And so on the night went. It was almost perfect.

 

Nothing could bring Lance down from how high he felt.

 

*

 

*

 

Lance felt like he couldn’t breathe. His heart hurt, _fuck,_ it hurt _so_ bad. Tears pricked behind his eyes and before long he had ripped off his mask, helplessly sobbing. He kept gasping for air, heaving as he cried.

 

It was a combination of the alcohol hitting him, lots of bottled up feelings and most importantly, those fucking pictures.

 

He’d taken his phone out to take a selfie with everyone, and after saving it, he posted it on his snapchat story. And then he’d stupidly swiped up, immediately regretting it as his accounts memories popped up.

 

It was a dumb move, he knew that, but he couldn’t help but excuse himself to the washroom and swipe through the pictures of previous Halloween nights. Next thing he knew, he was face-to-face with a grinning Aliana.

 

The first picture was immediately recognizable. It was taken the Halloween before he and Aliana got together, back when they were only just friends. Their entire (still in high school) friend group had decided to do a group costume—the Addams family. Pidge went as Wednesday, Hunk as Uncle Fester, Romelle as Grandmama and most importantly, Lance and Aliana as Gomez and Morticia.

 

Hunk had Pidge on his shoulders, both holding up a peace sign with their hands. Romelle stood on their left, mid-laugh. Lance had an arm around Aliana as the two shot the camera toothy grins.

 

Lance sniffled as he swiped on.

 

The next picture was of Lance and Aliana’s first Halloween as a couple. They’d both been eager to do a couples costume, and after weeks of deliberation, they’d settled on [Danny and Sandy from Grease](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a7/e4/1d/a7e41d7fda2407bcd7bfc7d5cfc3353e.jpg). The final push into choosing those costumes came after the two started to picture each other in tight leather— _it was an obvious yes after._

 

Aliana stood beside Lance, a hand resting on his chest as he pretended to fix his hair like Danny. They looked...so happy. It almost didn’t feel like Lance was looking at his own memories, more like he was watching someone else’s life.

 

_God, how long had it been since he’d looked at these?_

 

He soldiered on.

 

The last picture hurt the most. It happened just days before the twins were born, days before Aliana’s light burned out.

 

That year they’d gone with a Princess Bride theme. Everyone that night called them the Latin version of Westley and Buttercup.

 

The two of them stood side-by-side, Aliana leaning her head on Lance’s shoulder. Lance was gazing down at her looking absolutely starstruck. Aliana had a hand resting on top of her protruding stomach.

 

They looked so young, energetic and excited. They were about to embark on the journey of parenthood together, their wedding just around the corner.

 

Life for them hadn’t even started yet—and it never would.

 

And that was when he couldn’t handle it anymore. He turned off his phone, shoving it in his pocket and dashing out of the washroom. He needed air.

 

He thought no one had seen him—an idea proved wrong the second a worried looking Keith came outside, frantically calling out Lance’s name.

 

A particularly loud sob wracked Lance’s body, attracting the attention of Keith. The man in question rushed over, squatting down in front of Lance.

 

“Lance,” his voice involuntarily cracked “What’s wrong?”

 

“I miss her” Lance hiccupped.

 

“Miss who?”

 

“Aliana”

 

Keith pulled Lance into his chest, rubbing a hand up and down his back comfortingly. “Who’s she?”

 

“The twins’ mom” Lance’s breathing started to level out solely because he wasn’t alone anymore. Keith was here, he cared about Lance. Lance wasn’t alone, not anymore at least.

 

Keith tensed. “Where—where did she go?”

 

_“Er,_ heaven, I hope?” Lance tilted his head, breakdown momentarily forgotten.

 

_“Oh, fuck!”_ He cursed “I’m _so_ sorry, I didn’t know that’s what everyone meant when they said the twins’ mom was out of the picture. I thought she, y’know, just up and left”

 

Lance couldn’t help but laugh. Trust Keith to bring him away from a total meltdown by accidentally making the situation funny.

 

“It’s not your fault” Lance shrugged “I never really told you much about her. Hell, you didn’t even know her name. I’m sorry for keeping it from you, I should’ve told you”

 

“Hey, no,” Keith sternly said “Don’t apologize for that. You don’t have to tell me anything before you’re ready”

 

Lance took a deep breath. _“We—we met in high school-”_

 

Lance told Keith everything. From the pining to the day they finally started dating, to the unexpected pregnancy, to the engagement, to the twins’ birth, to her untimely death, to the struggle of raising two kids alone. All of it.

 

And it felt good to have it all out in the open, no more secrets.

 

The two of them spent more than an hour on that curb. Each of them exposed their vulnerable sides, each told personal stories.

 

Keith talked about his life before being adopted by Shiro's family. Talked about his mom walking out on them, his dad dying in a fire, all the foster-care horror stories. He confessed that even though he wanted to resent his mother for leaving, if she contacted him, he wouldn't hesitate to answer.

 

Lance felt a lot closer to Keith now; more connected.

 

Sometimes he forgot he wasn’t alone in this, but with Keith at his side, he knew things would be alright.

 

*

 

*

 

“How was your night sunshine?” Lance asked Kieran.

 

“So fun” Kieran grinned “We got lots of candy”

 

“I’m glad you had a good time” Lance smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair as he turned around to flip the pancakes. He figured Keith deserved a good breakfast after having to deal with...all _that_ yesterday.

 

After Lance had sufficiently calmed down, they’d decided to call it a night, opting to say their goodbyes and head back to Lance’s for a quiet rest of Halloween.

 

“Sunshine,” Lance remembered “What do you want for your birthday? Tio Adam’s buying your gifts today”

 

Kieran thought for a moment. “Tarot cards, please”

 

Lance blinked. “You want...tarot cards for your birthday?”

 

“Yeah”

 

“Kieran, do you even know what those are?”

 

“They’re like pokemon cards aren’t they?”

 

“No, sunshine” Lance huffed out a small laugh “They’re really not”

 

“Oh,” He frowned “Can I still get some though?”

 

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. “I-I guess so”

 

_I have strange kids,_ Lance thought. He could almost picture Aliana laughing and saying _“They get it from you, you know”_

 

Once the food was done, Kieran helped Lance set the table. Then Lance went into his bedroom where he knew Keith and Ella were still sleeping.

 

Luis had dropped off the kids early in the morning, and while Kieran was perfectly content to stay awake with Lance, Ella required more sleep. Keith offered to stay with her seeing as how he was still tired too.

 

The sight was cute, to say the least. Keith got along with his kids so well.

 

Things were really looking up for Lance. _And for Lotor, who ended up taking home that cowboy._

 

*

 

*

 

“Happy birthday, angel” Lance softly said, pressing a chaste kiss on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and soon she was grinning.

 

“I’m six” Ella stated proudly “That means I finally caught up to Crystal. Her birthdays in April”

 

“And as your first act as a six-year-old, I decree,” Lance lowered his voice conspiratorially “That you should go wake up Keith”

 

Keith had been sleeping over a lot lately, not that anyone minded.

 

“Anyway I want?” She slyly smiled.

 

“Anyway you want”

 

The girl in question bolted, sockless feet lightly hitting the floor as she went to wake up Keith.

 

Lance went across the hall into Kieran’s room to wake up the other birthday kid. To his surprise, Kieran was already up. The boy was on his bed fiddling with something.

 

“Happy birthday” Kieran immediately looked up at Lance’s voice, face breaking out into a grin.

 

“Thank you, daddy”

 

Lance walked over and sat beside him. “What’ve you got there?”

 

Kieran held up the object. It was a piece of pink construction paper folded in half. “Ella’s birthday card”

 

“That’s very sweet of you sunshine,” Lance smiled, a little perplexed “But it’s, uh, blank”

 

The boy froze. “I have to write things on it?”

 

“That’s typically how birthday cards work, hun” He laughed “Think about whenever your abuela gives you a card, what does she write?”

 

_“Happy birthday, Kieran. Te quiero mucho”_ Kieran recited.

 

“Exactly” Lance nodded “So you can write something like that to your sister”

 

“Can you help me?”

 

“Of course”

 

The two spent the next few minutes perfecting the card to Kieran’s liking. A large “Happy Birthday Ella” sat on the front. Inside it read “I hope you have a good birthday, not better than mine, but close” ( _“What?” Kieran said when he saw the look his father gave him “Just because I’m giving her a card doesn’t mean I love her more than myself”_ )

 

Once they finished, they went to the living room where Ella and Keith were already situated.

 

“You guys better start getting dressed, the family will be here in an hour. Your friends come over tomorrow afternoon” Lance advised the twins. They reluctantly nodded and went back to their rooms to get changed. Lance had left outfits for them hanging on their doors the night before.

 

“You look...oddly melancholic” Keith commented.

 

“We’re gonna have to visit Aliana’s grave later”

 

“Oh,” Keith frowned “I can come if you want?”

 

Lance looked up. “Really?”

 

Keith nodded. “Yeah. I know it’s hard and it must be even harder with the kids. I can be your support system”

 

“How did I even manage to find you?” Lance choked out, suddenly overcome with emotion.

 

Keith kissed his forehead. “Luck, I guess”

 

Lance snorted. “Yeah, something like that”

 

He wouldn’t admit it, but he did feel pretty lucky.

 

*

 

*

 

There it was. A pristine white marble grave, fresh bouquet of red roses and sunflowers sitting to the left of it. Lance immediately knew those were left by Aliana’s mom and dad. Another smaller bouquet of pink azaleas sat on the right of the headstone. Those were from Mateo.

 

_Beloved daughter, sister, fiance, friend and mother. A beautiful soul whose light went out far too soon._

 

“Hola mama,” Ella said good-naturedly.

 

“We brought you teddy bears!” Kieran exclaimed, placing the blue stuffed toy down in front of her grave.

 

“Mine’s green because daddy showed me that picture of you when you were a little girl like me” Ella explained, “You had a bear just like this one!”

 

Lance choked back a sob. He was glad the twins thought visiting their mother was a happy occasion because that’s what it should be. But he couldn’t help but dread the day they truly understood what it meant to be here, the day he would have to hold them as they wept in front of her grave, grieving for a mother they never even got to meet.

 

The twins talked non-stop back-and-forth for a good while. They updated their mom on school, rambled about Halloween, Ella ranted about Crystal and Kieran wistfully talked about Melora. They told her everything and anything.

 

“And this mama, is Keith” Ella waited for Keith.

 

“Uh,” He cleared his throat and gave a little wave “Hello”

 

Lance held a watery smile.

 

“He’s daddy’s new boyfriend. I like him, he’s nice” Ella continued.

 

“He makes daddy laugh a lot” Kieran added “And he thinks daddy’s butt is cute. Mom did you used to think daddy had a nice butt?”

 

Lance could so vividly picture Aliana bursting out with a laugh, the joyous sound engulfing them as she said _“Of course I did, it’s a really nice butt after all”_

 

Eventually, the twins grew tired. Lance took this as his cue. “I think it’s time for you guys to say goodbye”

 

“Goodbye, mama!” Ella leaned forward to kiss her grave “I love you!”

 

Kieran gave the gravestone a tight hug. “Bye mom, te amo mucho. We’ll see you later”

 

“I’ll take them to the car” Keith gave Lance a quick yet meaningful kiss before holding the twins’ hands and walking away. He knew Lance wasn't done just yet.

 

Lance sighed as he sat down cross-legged in front of her grave. “Guess it’s just you and me now, huh?”

 

_Silence._

 

“Things are...a lot better than the last time we talked,” He said “Mostly because of Keith. Lia, he’s _so_ good. The kids love him and he loves them just as much”

 

The wind blew, drawing a shudder out of him.

 

“I just—I really wish you were still here. Mi mama, well she used to always tell me that everything happened for a reason. But Lia, _there wasn’t a reason,_ I don’t think there ever was. It’s been...really hard without you, not just on me, but on everyone” Lance wiped a tear “But, I think I’m done crying over it. I’ve spent so long wishing I could go back in time that I started to miss out on the present. You were my world, but things changed, and now I realize that I have to prioritize myself more, and the kids.”

 

A bird chirped in the distance.

 

“Do you think-” Lance faltered “-do you think that it’s okay for me to fall in love again?”

 

Lance had visited Aliana before his first date after losing her. He’d asked if it was okay for him to try to move on. Now he was asking if it was okay that he _had_ moved on.

 

“I-I think I love Keith. I really do,” Lance smiled “And I think he loves me too”

 

A butterfly landed on her grave. It faced Lance, not moving as he reached towards it. Eventually, the butterfly fluttered its wings and moved onto his arm.

 

Lance felt his heart warm.

 

“Thank you,” He whispered. And then it flew away.

 

_“Do you believe in signs from the afterlife?” Romelle asked out of the blue “Because I’m pretty sure the squirrel I saw this morning was a sign from my brother”_

 

_“I believe, yeah” Pidge nodded, looking up from her chemistry homework. Hunk and Lance hummed in agreement, not taking their eyes away from the screen where they were playing Mario Kart._

 

_“I think I’d send back a butterfly” Aliana pondered aloud “But not just for any reason, y’know? It would have to be important, something I needed the person to know. Something absolutely vital”_

 

_“Why a butterfly?” Pidge asked._

 

_“They’re pretty” Aliana grinned “And they’re not afraid to land on people”_

 

Lance got up feeling newly restored. With a final goodbye and a promise to return later, he walked away.

 

And for the first time ever, he didn’t look back. Because the future, _his_ future, was only ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk was this a good enough balance between fluff, humour and angst???
> 
> and once again, thank u for giving me ur time
> 
> the addams family costume for morticia and gomez was inspired by joe jonas and sophie turner's costumes. princess bride costumes were just something I thought of and liked. 
> 
> honestly go me for not only giving you spandex shiro and latex lance, just think of allura as kida. look me in the eyes and say she wouldn't absolutely rock that.


	4. Fooled Around and Fell in Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> am I terrible at updating? yes  
> am I super duper late with this chapter? yes  
> has it been over 3 months? yes  
> BUT  
> am I a liar? no sis! I said I'd finish this and I meant it. no matter how long it takes I will see this through to the end.
> 
> please enjoy this long overdue chapter, I even threw in a lil cliff hanger at the end. kinda.

The kids' winter break had officially started the second they got home from school Friday. Keith had picked them up while Lance finished up his yoga class. 

 

Once the last woman left, Keith came up to Lance. “You should go talk to Kieran”

 

“Why?” Lance asked.

 

“He seems off today” Keith shrugged. He glanced over at the clock, “I’ve gotta get going now, I promised Pidge and Romelle we could go hunting for cryptids”

 

Lance blinked. “What?”

 

“Don’t worry, we’ve got protection just in case we find bigfoot or Mothman or something” Keith assured him.

 

Lance was still lost. “What?”

 

“Yes, Lance,” Keith sighed “I’ll make sure to get photo evidence too”

 

“Not where I was going with that but okay” Lance shrugged “Have fun, be safe”

 

“If I see a werewolf I’m throwing Pidge at it”

 

“I’m so glad to see you making friends”

 

“Dating you has made me more social, and for that, I will never forgive you” Keith sighed.

 

“God forbid your boyfriend encourages socialization” Lance snorted.

 

Keith kissed him before shrugging on his jacket. “They should really lock you up for that”

 

“I hope you guys don’t find any cryptids”

 

Keith pouted. “That was too far. Take it back before you jinx us”

 

“You’re ridiculous, bye” Lance laughed, shoving him towards the door. After he left, Lance went to his room to change. He traded his leggings for sweatpants and grabbed the first shirt he saw - one of Keith’s numerous white t-shirts.

 

All jokes aside, Lance really was glad that Keith got along with his friends. He could’ve gone without the conspiracy theories but if that’s what it took to bring them together, so be it.

 

He left his room and saw Ella playing with her dolls in her room. She looked up and smiled when she saw him.

 

“Daddy, can we play together?” She asked.

 

Lance nodded. “Let me make dinner first, then I’ll play with you angel”

 

Ella agreed and Lance headed to the kitchen. He did a double-take when he noticed Kieran lying upside down on the couch. The boy was frowning, wearing an extremely bedraggled shirt and lacked pants.

 

“You okay there?” Lance asked apprehensively. 

 

No answer.

 

“Alright—so I’m gonna start dinner now” He continued. Kieran didn’t speak up until Lance started to walk away, and even then it wasn’t directed at him.

 

_“Alexa,”_ He called out solemnly “Play _Wasteland, Baby!_ By Hozier”

 

Lance blinked. “Sunshine, what’re you doing?”

 

“I’m wallowing”

 

“...Do you want me to cut up some strawberries?”

 

“In halves please,” Kieran requested “Like my heart”

 

Lance sighed, taking a seat beside the apparently-heartbroken boy. “Talk to me, what’s bothering you?”

 

“It’s stupid” He mumbled, turning away so Lance couldn’t see his face.

 

“It’s not stupid sunshine,” Lance helped Kieran sit up “If something upsets you it’s never stupid”

 

“It’s just—today at school, Jesse King asked out Melora”

 

“What did she say?” Lance prompted.

 

“She told him no” 

 

Lance blinked. “So, uh, what’s upsetting you?”

 

“Well, then she told him that she likes Jonathan King, his older brother”

 

Lance winced. Poor Jesse, it must be tough being upstaged by your older brother. Not like Lance would know though, Adam, Marco and Luis had nothing on him. 

 

Kieran continued. “She said Jesse was ‘too young and immature’ for her. I guess I’m just...sad that Mel’s never gonna like me. Not how I like her. I’m just Ella’s dorky brother who says stupid things that people think is funny”

 

Story of Lance’s life. He was no stranger to being the class clown—burying your emotions with jokes. Because if they were laughing with you, it meant they weren’t laughing at you.

 

“Sunshine, you know you’re more than that” Lance wrapped his arms around his son “You’re sweet, caring, smart, brave and most importantly you’re kind. You made Keith feel so welcome here and I cannot thank you enough for that. You’re so special Kieran, and I know sometimes our insecurities can make us forget that, but you’ve got a whole team of people who care about you”

 

“Insecurities?” Kieran echoed.

 

“They’re things that make you feel bad about yourself” Lance explained.

 

“Do you have any insecurities daddy?”

 

“Sure I do, everyone does. Sometimes I’m afraid that people think I’m dumb or that I’m incapable of being a dad. But what’s important is that _I_ know I’m not dumb and I know that I’m doing my absolute best at parenting”

 

“You’re the best dad in the whole wide world. And you’re super smart! You know, like, almost everything. That’s why I get you to help with my homework” Kieran said.

 

Lance smiled, “Thank you, sunshine. You and Ella are the best kids in the whole wide world”

 

“And Keith’s the best boyfriend in the whole wide world” 

 

“You can say that again” Lance mumbled. And then an idea popped into his mind—Lance had overcome his own insecurities, so while he may have been able to help Kieran learn how to get over them and love himself, he wouldn’t really be able to help him learn how to deal with them, how to live _with_ them.

 

But Shiro could.

 

It was no surprise that Shiro’s prosthetic arm was the root of almost all of his insecurities. It was noticeable, drawing attention everywhere he went. It was a reminder that life after the car accident would never quite be the same. To Shiro, it was a symbol of his weakness.

 

Lance had witnessed many of Adam’s numerous rants where the man expressed how angry he was with people for making Shiro feel like his prosthetic was something to be ashamed of, rather than to be proud of. To Adam, it represented Shiro’s strength, his ability to not only survive but to consistently bounce back from whatever life threw at him.

 

Shiro was still learning how to accept himself, prosthetic and all. Who better to teach Kieran about this topic than the master of it himself?

 

“I’ll be right back,” He said, grabbing the phone and calling his brother’s number. It was likely that wherever Adam was, Shiro would be too.

 

“This better be good I was seconds away from seducing Takashi” Adam snapped. In the background, Lance heard Shiro snort.

 

“Somehow, I highly doubt that” Lance rolled his eyes “But this is important, yes”

 

“Oh, okay,” Adam said, “What’s up?”

 

“Can I talk to Shiro?”

 

“If you didn’t want to talk to me then why did you call _my_ phone” Adam huffed.

 

“You guys are attached at the hip,” Lance said “Just pass the phone to him”

 

“Next time I want to have a super-secret conversation with Keith I’ll call your phone” Adam warned.

 

“As if you’d ever willingly call Keith”

 

Adam scoffed. “Whatever, nerd”

 

A few moments later Shiro spoke.

 

“Hey, Lance,”

 

“Can you come over?”

 

“Sure, what for?” Shiro said.

 

“I need you to bring out Mr.Shiro and talk about insecurities with Kieran”

 

“I-” Shiro cut himself off “Alright, I guess”

 

“You agreed pretty quickly” Lance tilted his head despite the fact Shiro couldn’t see him.

 

“I mean I’m not really busy right now anyway, and Adam’s been trying to set up the stripper pole he ordered online for like an hour now—you know how he is with instructions—so I think it’s a good idea for me to get out of the house for a bit”

 

“Why did my brother buy a stripper pole?” 

 

“...Do I need to spell it out for you?” Shiro hesitated.

 

Lance pulled a face. “Ew, gross. Just come over”

 

It didn’t take long for Shiro to show up. Lance let him in and immediately took him to Kieran’s room. While the two of them were talking out insecurities, Lance went to Ella’s room and played with her. 

 

He really appreciated Shiro doing this. And he said so around an hour later when Shiro and Kieran had finished up their chat, the former putting his shoes on by the door.

 

“Thank you so much Shiro” Lance gushed “You’re amazing”

 

“It was nothing, really” 

 

“No seriously, thank you. I appreciate this beyond belief”  Lance smiled.

 

Shiro smiled back. “You’re welcome then. But seriously, it’s no problem. Kieran’s a good kid, I don’t mind helping”

 

“Well I owe you one,” Lance said.

 

Shiro thought for a moment. “There is something that’s been, uh, weighing me down lately?”

 

“I can totally help you with that!” Lance exclaimed, “Does it have something to do with you and Adam?”

 

“Uh, yeah actually” Shiro coughed “It does”

 

Lance furrowed his eyebrows. “Did Adam do something? I know sometimes he can be overwhelming, and reckless, and impulsive, and quite frankly annoying—but he cares about you so much—he might even love you a little too much actually-”

 

“I’m married!” Shiro blurted.

 

Lance froze. _“What?”_

 

“I mean realistically, we’re divorced. I haven’t seen Curtis in years, we split up and everything—and I moved out” Shiro rushed “But legally—well the divorce papers were never signed”

 

“And what, you just thought my brother would never find out?” Lance said flatly “Have you met Adam?”

 

“I was going to tell him— _eventually”_

 

“When you were at the altar about to say _‘I do’?_ This isn’t just something you can keep secret Shiro” Lance sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

 

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead?” Shiro winced.

 

Suddenly Lance raised an eyebrow. “Does Keith know?”

 

“He knows that I was married yes, but he thinks we’re divorced”

 

Lance nodded in satisfaction. If Keith had known and just never said anything—well let’s just say Lance would’ve declared himself celibate. It was a relief that Keith was just as clueless in this situation.

 

“You’ve gotta tell him, Shiro,” Lance said seriously, “If you don’t I will”

 

“I know, I know—I’ll tell him this weekend after we get home from dinner at your mom’s”

 

“It’s the right thing to do. And Shiro?” Lance put his hand on the others shoulder “I meant what I said, he loves you, he’ll understand”

 

“But what if he doesn’t?” Shiro pushed “I mean I’ve already got so much baggage, what if this is the thing that pushes him off the edge, the thing that makes him snap, the thing that makes him not love me anymore?”

 

“I’ve known Adam since birth—that’s a long time to get to know someone. I’ve seen every phase of his life and I’ve witnessed every relationship he’s ever had. Shiro, he’s never looked at someone the way he looks at you” Lance insisted “He loves you—in a way I don’t think he’s ever loved anyone before—it’s gonna take a lot more than this to make him give up on your relationship. He _is_ a McClain after all, and we’re notoriously stubborn”

 

When a McClain loved, they loved with everything they had. Adam wouldn’t let Shiro go over this, Lance had no doubts about it. Adam loved Shiro in every sense of the word. 

 

The same way Lance loved Keith.

 

*

 

*

 

“Lance—we need to talk” Keith barged into his apartment unannounced. Lance straightened up immediately and took in the sight before him—Keith looked terrible.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“I’m pregnant”

 

Lance blinked. “I’m sorry—what?”

 

“You heard me. I’m pregnant” He repeated.

 

“Keith that’s literally impossible”

 

He huffed. “Well, then how do you explain why I’ve been having morning sickness...and afternoon and night sickness?”

 

“Maybe it’s because you’re sick” Lance snorted.

 

“I don’t get sick” Keith wrinkled his nose.

 

“So pregnancy is the only other option?” Lance mused. Keith nodded.

 

“First of all, that’s not really how anatomy works, sweetheart” Lance laughed fondly “Second of all, I’ve already gotten someone pregnant, and trust me she didn’t look like death personified. And third of all, we haven’t switched positions in bed yet, so on the off chance you are pregnant, it’s not mine”

 

“Okay, so if I’m not pregnant then what am I?” Keith sniffled.

 

“....Sick” 

 

“I’m not sick!” Keith exclaimed “I haven’t gotten sick since the summer of freshman year in high school”

 

“What do you think is happening then, Keith?”

 

“Maybe I’m going through puberty”

 

“What, like one wasn’t enough?”

 

“Babe, I’m evolving”

 

“Right.” Lance said flatly “So while you continue ‘evolving’, I’m gonna go make you some soup, here, lie down on the couch”

 

“I’m not sick” Keith protested as Lance ushered him to the couch.

 

_“Uh-huh,”_ Lance helped him sit on the couch, where he immediately slumped over in exhaustion.

 

“I’m just lying down because I’m tired, _not_ because I’m sick”

 

“Yup,” Lance nodded along, pulling a blanket over him.

 

“I have the immune system of a god” Keith mumbled sleepily.

 

“I believe you sweetheart” Lance snorted fondly. He leaned down and pressed his lips to his boyfriend’s forehead. He almost rolled his eyes when he felt how warm it was— ‘not sick’ his ass. He probably caught a cold after going cryptid hunting with Pidge and Romelle.

 

“You’re really pretty Lance,” Keith babbled as his eyes started to flutter, exhaustion creeping in “And you’re so good to me. So good”

 

Lance’s face softened. “I’ll go get you that soup, alright?”

 

“Okay,” He sighed in content, sinking further into the couch “Thank you, babe”

 

As Lance started making the same soup he made for the twins when they were sick, Ella came out of her room and made her way to the living room. A few moments later she came back to the kitchen.

 

“Daddy,” She started “Is Keith dead?”

 

“No, but he is pregnant” Lance laughed.

 

“I hope it’s a girl, I want a sister to replace Kieran!” Ella exclaimed.

 

Lance froze. “Wait, _no_ —Ella it was a joke—angel, he’s not-”

 

“Kieran we’re replacing you with my new sister!” Ella shouted, cutting off Lance.

 

“Ella, if you would just _listen_ for one sec-”

 

Kieran soon left his room and joined them. “I feel bad for the baby”

 

Ella narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

 

“Because it’ll have you as a sister, and no one deserves that”

 

As Lance interfered with their fight before it could escalate, he couldn't help but wonder— _were he and Adam that bad as kids?_

 

Though who was he kidding, he and his brother were that bad now.

 

It was a good thing the twins didn’t get to see him and Rachel together all the time like they did with him and Adam. If anyone thought the twins were unbearable, they’d have to wait and see the original McClain twins—Lance and Rachel made Ella and Kieran seem like angels.

 

He couldn’t wait until this weekend, it’d been too long since he’d seen her and the rest of his family. Not to mention Keith and Shiro were finally meeting everyone.

 

It’d been a while since Lance had last introduced a partner to his family, but he wasn’t nervous. Not at all, because Keith was— _well,_ Keith. And what more could he ask for?

 

*

 

*

 

It was safe to say Lance was slightly regretting introducing Keith to his family. He’d forgotten just how much they enjoyed embarrassing him. 

 

It started with Rachel, who opened the door for them.

 

“Alejandro!” She exclaimed, leaping out and wrapping her twin in a hug “I was beginning to think you forgot about me”

 

“It’s been awhile” He sheepishly nodded.

 

“Where’s my hug?” Adam demanded. Rachel let go of Lance and attacked her older brother. When she let go of him too, she took a step back and examined Shiro and Keith.

 

“Rachel, this is Keith, my boyfriend” Lance grinned.

 

“And the hotter one is _my_ boyfriend, Shiro” Adam interjected. 

 

“It’s nice to meet you guys” She smiled warmly, holding out a hand. Keith and Shiro took turns shaking her hand.

 

“Now that introductions are out of the way...” There was a sharp glint in her eye as she spoke “Keith, let me tell you about the time Lance fell through our roof. And Shiro, I’m sure you’re curious about the time Adam fell into the punch bowl at prom” 

 

“You fell through the roof?” Keith blinked.

 

“Our shingles were very, _very_ old” Lance shuddered.

 

Shiro laughed “You fell into the punch bowl? How does that even happen?”

 

“...A girl asked me to dance and I got scared, tried to run away, and instead tumbled right inside the punch bowl” Adam reluctantly admitted.

 

“It’s not my fault you guys are disasters and it works in my favour” Rachel shrugged.

 

“Lance, why were you on a roof?” Keith asked at the same time Shiro continued laughing at Adam, managing to wheeze out _“You’re so gay”._

 

“....Luis convinced me I could fly”

 

“Babe,” Keith snorted “You don’t have wings”

 

“He told me they’d come out when I needed them too!” Lance said in his defence. 

 

Rachel ended up ushering them all inside the house a few minutes later. 

 

She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Mama! Everyone! Lance and Adam are home!” 

 

“Don’t freak out” Lance mumbled under his breath to Keith, seeing the nervous look on the others face as the sounds of feet pounding came from all over the house.

 

“They sound like a stampede” Keith’s eyes widened.

 

“Might as well be” Adam grumbled.

 

“I should’ve gone with the twins to Hunk and Shay’s” Keith insisted.

 

“Oh my god, you’re all overreacting” Shiro rolled his eyes, fed up with everyone's antics.

 

“Easy for you to say, everyone likes you” Keith pointed. 

 

“It’s because I’m polite and have manners, something all of you seem to lack” Shiro rolled his eyes again.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adam furrowed his eyebrows. Lance couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.

 

“It _means-”_ Shiro huffed, voice raising “-that your family’s been standing in front of us for like a minute while you were being drama queens”

 

Lo and behold, when Lance looked forward, his entire family was staring at them with amused looks. 

 

Lance rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sheepishly smiled. “Hola?”

 

“Mis niños!” His mama exclaimed in joy, pulling the two brothers into her embrace.

 

“You’d think with age she’d get weaker and yet, her hugs still leave me struggling to breathe,” Adam said after she let them go.

 

“...Did you just call me old?” 

 

Adam gulped. “No, mama”

 

“Actually I think he did” Marco smirked. 

 

“Next time you ask me why you’re my least favourite brother—remember this moment” Adam snapped.

 

“Personally my least favourite brother is Luis,” Veronica said with a wicked grin.

 

Luis hummed. “I think I’m gonna have to go with Lance”

 

“My least favourite is Adam” Lance added.

 

“I’m my own least favourite brother” Marco gloated.

 

“Knock it off you guys” Rosa McClain rolled her eyes. She turned to Shiro and Keith “It’s so nice to finally meet the two men who have swept my sons off their feet”

 

“Trust me, he’s swept me off my feet just as much” Shiro smiled.

 

“Eh, Lance is alright. I mainly stay with him ‘cause he has cute kids”

 

She laughed at that. “I see why they like you both so much. I like you too, welcome to the family,” She pulled them into another one of her bone-crushing hugs. 

 

It went just as amazing as Lance had hoped. His two worlds had finally integrated and they meshed perfectly.

 

Dinner went smoothly, everyone was able to interact and Shiro and Keith fit in with the McClains beautifully. After dinner, they moved outside to the backyard where the conversations continued. Eventually, his mama went inside to clean up, Luis went home and Marco caught a ride with him.

 

“Y’know,” Rachel announced to the remaining group, consisting of Lance, Adam, Keith, Shiro and Veronica, “One time someone asked me out because they thought I was Lance”

 

Lance snorted. “Halloween of freshman year, right?”

 

Rachel nodded with a laugh.

 

“How does that even happen?” Shiro asked.

 

“Lance and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2, and so this boy from down the block found me right after the bell rang” Rachel explained “It was sweet, he said I had pretty eyes and asked if I wanted to go to the new ice cream parlour down the road. I wasn’t interested in him before that but I thought _‘Hey, why not’,_ and then as he started to leave, he called me _Lance”_

 

Everyone laughed.

 

“So what did you do?” Keith asked.

 

“Well, I was too embarrassed to tell him I wasn’t Lance so I went along with it. Then I got Lance to go out with him later”

 

“He moved away shortly after our ice cream date” Lance wistfully sighed.

 

“Oh, what could’ve been” Keith snorted. 

 

“Why did you never set me up with anyone?” Adam turned and asked Veronica.

 

_“I did._ I tried to set you up with my friend Maria’s older sister at prom” Veronica chuckled. Adam’s ears turned pink and Shiro let out a laugh that he tried to cover with a cough.

 

“The only thing Veronica’s ever set me up with is a date with death” Lance rolled his eyes. 

 

“Did not!”

 

“You almost drowned me in the bathtub” Lance deadpanned. “I asked you to teach me how to swim and the next thing I knew you were dunking my head down in the tub”

 

“You learned how to swim didn’t you?” She snarked.

 

“Yeah. Two months later. After I took lessons at the public pool”

 

“To be fair, Shiro once pushed me out of our treehouse, so I guess it’s some sort of older sibling rule to antagonize your younger siblings,” Keith said. 

 

Shiro looked mortified. “I didn’t mean to push you that hard. You were so small and it was such a big fall. I thought I killed you”

 

Keith snorted. “Yeah, I know. You started wailing and screamed _‘Mom, Dad, I think I just accidentally involved myself in homicide’”_

 

“I was just covering my bases” Shiro huffed in his defence.

 

“What bases, Takashi?” Adam laughed “Did you think your parents would believe you did it on purpose?”

 

“As if,” Keith rolled his eyes “Shiro used to cry after stepping on ants”

 

“Oh, so having empathy is a crime?” He shot back.

 

Adam cooed. “No babe, it’s what makes you, _you”_

 

Lance’s phone vibrates in his pocket so he pulls it out and smiles when he sees its a message from Hunk. He opens up the chat to find a video of Ella and Kieran. 

 

“Hey look at this” Lance said, tilting the phone so everyone could get a look at it. Everyone watched in amusement as Ella and Kieran ran around Hunk’s legs. Eventually, Ella struck a pose and said _“Prepare for trouble”,_ and Kieran immediately mimicked her, adding _“And make it double!”_

 

“That used to be our thing, Lance!” Rachel laughed.

 

Lance snorted. “Does this mean we’re old now?”

 

“I mean you were the first one to have kids” Veronica pointed out.

 

“It wasn’t on purpose”

 

“Does anyone ever have kids on purpose?” She retorted.

 

“I was an accident” Shiro raised his hand “My parents weren’t planning to have kids for a while but then they had no choice”

 

 

"And what a letdown you were," Keith snickered, "Luckily, they were able to achieve redemption by adopting me"

 

“Wait, you guys aren’t blood related?” Rachel asked.

 

They both shook their heads.

 

“Huh, never would've guessed,” Veronica said.

 

“Yeah, Curtis always used to say we looked related” Keith smiled.

 

“Curtis?” Adam echoed “Who’s that?”

 

Keith froze. Lance glanced over at Shiro and the man had paled. 

 

“Well, shit,” Lance said what everyone was thinking.

 

“Thank you for that Keith” Shiro groaned.

 

Keith’s eyes widened. “How was I supposed to know he didn’t know about Curtis?”

 

“What’s going on?” Adam looked nervous.

 

“This is ten times better than mama’s telenovelas” Rachel excitedly said, leaning forward in her seat. Veronica eagerly nodded in agreement.

 

“Adam, can I talk to you for a moment”

 

“In private” Lance added, shooting a look at his sisters.

 

Rachel huffed. “You never let us have any fun”

 

“Egoísta” Veronica hissed at him.

 

“Sure, we can go to my old room” Adam slowly nodded getting and gesturing for Shiro to follow him. The two men went inside and silence fell once more. 

 

Lance slyly smiled. “Hey V?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You’re still single right?”

 

“Unfortunately”

 

“Would you be open to dating Keith’s sister?”

 

Veronica looked Keith up and down. “Yeah, sure. Give me her number later”

 

_Knew it,_ Lance thought. It looked like all the McClains had a thing for the Broganes.

 

*

 

*

 

“So how’d he take it?” Lance asked when Shiro returned.

 

Shiro tilted his head. “He was mad at first...but then he asked to see pictures of Curtis”

 

“Why?” Keith asked.

 

“To see if he was hotter than my ex”

 

“I am by the way” Adam informed them as he walked back outside “In case any of you were wondering”

 

“Absolutely none of us were wondering that” Lance rolled his eyes.

 

Rachel raised her hand. “Uh, I was”

 

Adam looked satisfied. “I always knew you were the better twin. Should’ve absorbed Lance in the womb when you had a chance”

 

“It’s my one regret in life” Rachel nodded.

 

“I hate both of you” Lance snapped.

 

“Wow, edgy” Adam snorted.

 

Lance stuck his nose in the air petulantly. “Consider me on team Curtis from this point forward” 

 

Veronica leaned over to see the picture still on Shiro’s phone. She examined the screen for a moment before leaning back. “Yeah, y’know what? Me too. Curtis is kinda cute”

 

Before Adam could retaliate, Keith spoke up. “Back to the matter at hand, what happens next? Are you gonna get a divorce?”

 

Shiro nodded. “Adam and I talked it over, and we’ve decided to contact Curtis later so we can meet up and finalize the paperwork”

 

“So until then, I’m technically Takashi’s mistress” Adam slyly said.

 

“Please tell me you guys aren’t gonna role play that” Keith groaned.

 

“Oh, ew” Lance agreed.

 

“No wait, I’m intrigued, let them speak,” Veronica said.

 

“You _have_ to let us meet Curtis” Rachel looked way too eager.

 

“Oh, yes please” Lance added.

 

“No,” Adam sternly said, “Absolutely not”

 

“Please, Adam?” Rachel fluttered her eyelashes.

 

_“Pretty_ please?” Lance pouted.

 

Keith snorted. “You guys are awful”

 

“I don’t mind introducing you guys” Shiro shrugged. Adam gave him a look.

 

“I mean it, you guys” Adam glared “Under no circumstances are you to interact with my boyfriend’s ex-husband”

 

Lance and Rachel nodded in unison. “Understood”

 

“Why do I feel like this isn’t over?” Shiro looked amused.

 

“Because they’re both a menace to society” Adam looked tired “I hope the twins cause as much trouble for you as you guys do for me”

 

*

 

*

 

Lance couldn’t really pinpoint the exact moment when he realized he was in way over his head. 

 

Maybe it was earlier that morning when Adam called, asking him to pick up Curtis and his boyfriend from the airport. _(“I thought you said you didn’t want me interacting with him?” “Yeah well, I have no choice right now. His flight got in early and Takashi and I are still getting his arm checked out by the doctor. It’ll take us hours to get there, you’re closer. Besides, I trust you more than Rachel”)_

 

Maybe it was when Lotor showed up unannounced, minutes before Lance was set to leave.  _ (“Lotor, what the hell are you doing here?” “I need relationship advice” “...Get in the car”) _

 

It also might’ve been when he had to turn the car back around when he noticed he forgot the twins. _(“Lance I think you forgot something” “Really? What?” “Your children”)_

 

Whatever the moment was, it didn’t matter, because at the end of the day—Lance was in way over his head.

 

“You must be Adam” Curtis smiled.

 

Lance wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Oh god no, I’m Lance, his younger brother”

 

“Oh, that’s my bad” Curtis tilted his head “It’s just, I thought Adam and Shiro were picking us up?”

 

“They were supposed to, but they got held up at the doctors. Something to do with Shiro’s prosthetic” Lance explained.

 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lance. And this is my boyfriend Sven” Curtis pointed to the man beside him, who was wearing tinted sunglasses. The man certainly had the same build as Shiro, he looked like he could bench press all of the Western Hemisphere at once.

 

“It’s good to meet you both” Lance nodded “Now follow me out to my car. I have to warn you that it’s a bit cramped in there”

 

“That’s fine,” Sven shrugged “I have four brothers, so I’m used to being cramped in places”

 

“I have three brothers and two sisters, I can relate” Lance snorted.

 

“It’s times like these where I really cherish having only one younger sister” Curtis laughed.

 

“That sounds like a dream” Lance sighed wistfully.

 

“Amen to that” Sven agreed.

 

The group made their way out of the airport and Lance led them to his car, seeing Lotor deep in conversation with the twins. 

 

Through the open windows, they could make out most of the conversation. “So Ella, what you’re saying is, I need to make more of an effort to show Sawyer that I’m serious about him and our relationship?”

 

“Uh...sure”

 

“And Kieran you’re saying that I need to communicate how I’m feeling with him, otherwise we might discover we’re not on the same page later on and that could ultimately lead to the downfall of our relationship?” 

 

“I—I guess”

 

“For children, you two are very insightful. I appreciate the help”

 

“Who’s the elf looking dude in your car?” Sven asked.

 

“That’s my friend Lotor” Lance chuckled.

 

Curtis pointed at the twins.“Whose kids are those?”

 

“Oh they’re mine” Lance grinned.

 

“I can definitely see the resemblance” Curtis nodded “They look just like you”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Ruggedly handsome?”

 

“Uh, yeah. Let’s go with that” Curtis laughed.

 

Lance helped them put their luggage in the car before getting in the driver’s seat.

 

“Why are you asking my six-year-olds for relationship advice?”

 

Lotor had the decency to look at least a little embarrassed. “Do you remember the guy from the bar on Halloween?”

 

Lance nodded. “The one in a cowboy costume”

 

Lotor closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose “Well, it appears as though it wasn’t a costume”

 

“Excuse me, what?”

 

“Sawyer—that’s his name by the way—is a real-life cowboy” Lotor sighed “Turns out he actually forgot it was Halloween that night and just went out in his regular everyday clothes”

 

In Lance’s defence, he tried not to laugh, he really did, but it’d been a long morning and this was just too funny. “Oh my god, you’re dating a cowboy. You, Lotor, one of the snobbiest people alive, are dating a cowboy, who wears a cowboy hat and cowboy boots”

 

“It’s not that funny” Lotor grumbled.

 

Lance snickered. “It really is. What does he do for a living?”

 

Lotor hesitated. “He, uh, owns a farm”

 

“This just keeps getting better and better. Please tell me you’ve been to his farm”

 

“I went last weekend and had a lovely time, thanks for asking” He narrowed his eyes.

 

“I guess opposites really do attract”

 

“I’m not that much of a snob” Lotor huffed.

 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You kind of are” 

 

Lotor relented. “You’re right. I am that much of a snob. I hate the dirt, the mud, the animals, the wooden barns. But Lance, I really, really like _him”_

 

“That’s...kinda cute honestly” Lance admitted.

 

“He’s like a breath of fresh air. He treats me like I’m a real human being, but he’s also not afraid to call me out when I’m being too much of a bitch. He doesn’t mind that I have a kid and he’s actually excited to meet Melora” Lotor explained “It just—seems too good to be true”

 

“Listen—Lotor, is it?—I know I don’t know you and really all I have to base my opinion off of is the fact that you came to six-year-olds for relationship advice, but you seem like a good guy” Curtis piped up from the backseats “To me, it looks like the only reason it seems too good to be true is because you don’t think you deserve him”

 

“You...might be right” Lotor sighed.

 

“Hey listen, you might be a snob, but even snobs deserve happiness” Sven added.

 

It looked like Lotor had just had an epiphany. “Oh my god, the Shiro-clone is right. I have to go tell him that I’m in love with him and prove that I am willing to fight for us”

 

“Let’s go get your man!” Curtis cried.

 

“Adventure!” Ella and Kieran exclaimed.

 

“I was supposed to drop you guys off at Adam and Shiro’s-” Lance started.

 

“Lance step on it, we’re going to Sawyer’s farm!” Lotor looked so determined Lance gave up the fight immediately, knowing there was no stopping him.

 

Lance turned on the ignition and changed gears. “I guess we’re going to Sawyer’s farm”

 

*

 

*

 

Keith normally prided himself on his punctuality. You asked him to come over at 2:30, he was pulling into your driveway at 2:29. It was a virtue instilled into him at a young age by his dad. A virtue that unfortunately, was not acquired by Pidge.

 

She was supposed to come over half an hour ago and she had _just_ messaged Keith that she was leaving. At least she had the decency to say she’d stop and pick them up some food on the way.

 

On a regular day he’d call Lance and let the Cuban’s rambling distract him until Pidge arrived, but considering that Lance was picking up his brothers ex-husband (well technically his current-husband as Keith had rather awkwardly found out) from the airport, he decided to pass the time by watching tv. However, before he could even reach for the remote, his landline rang.

 

He froze, contemplating whether or not he should answer. On the one hand, it was probably someone professional calling, seeing as how Keith hadn’t even given his home phone number out to his own brother. Because seriously, who still used those? But on the other hand, Keith didn’t want to interact with a stranger right now. But on the _other_ other hand, what if it was Bigfoot calling? When he’d gone cryptid hunting with the girls, they all carved their numbers into a tree just in case Bigfoot wanted to contact them at a later time.

 

With a sigh, Keith went and answered the phone, just on the off chance it was Bigfoot.

 

“Hello?” He held his breath. What would Bigfoot’s voice sound like? Did he even speak English?

 

Just as Keith was debating whether or not to repeat himself in Spanish, a female voice on the other side of the call said, “Keith, is that you?”

 

His eyebrows furrowed. “Uh, yeah. Who is this?”

 

Nothing could have prepared him for what she said next. Seriously, at this point it could’ve been the government calling him to say that the Area 51 raid wasn’t going to work and that _no,_ he wouldn’t need that new leash he bought just in case the alien he brought home tried to run away, and Keith would’ve been totally okay with it. 

 

“It’s your mother. My names Krolia”

 

Keith was kicking himself, he should’ve known the second his landline was ringing not to pick it up. No one normal used those anymore!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say thank you to anyone still reading this hot mess written by a hot mess. every view, kudos and comment means the world to me.


	5. Where My Life Begun, Where Life Moves On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u enjoy <333  
> also, I'm sorry in advance

 

These were the facts:

 

 

  * __Adam was NOT happy about the detour__



 

 

“Where the hell are you?” Adam demanded after Lance answered the phone.

 

 “...Sawyer’s farm” 

 

“Sawyer?” He echoed in confusion.

 

“Lotor’s cowboy boyfriend who owns a farm” Lance explained.

 

 “Lance, what the fuck?”

 

 

  * __Sawyer really was a cowboy__



 

 

“Howdy y’all, welcome to my ranch,” The man said, tipping his hat sightly.

 

“Lotor, I thought it was a farm?” Curtis asked.

 

“Ranch, farm, it’s all the same to me” He shrugged “They both smell like shi-” 

 

“Lotor,” Sawyer interjected with a look.

 

Lotor sighed. “I was being a snob wasn’t I?”

 

“Yeah, but honestly darlin’ it wasn’t as bad as usual. I really think you’re learning”

 

“You guys are oddly sweet” Lance tilted his head.

 

 

  * __For some reason, Sven formed an immediate connection with all the cows, specifically Kalteneker__



 

 

“I think we’re brothers” Sven declared.

 

“Sven, no, that’s a cow” Curtis ran a hand over his face.

 

“Inter-species brothers” Sven persisted.

 

  * _At one point, Sven took off his sunglasses and it turned out he looked so much like Shiro, it was unsettling_  



 

Lance’s jaw dropped. “Wow, Sven, you look-”

 

“Nothing like Shiro?” He interjected.

 

“Uh, yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to say” Lance lied.

 

“I know, it’s crazy how different my taste changed after Shiro. To go from someone who looks like Shiro to someone who looks like Sven, it’s a big change” Curtis nodded.

 

“I'm sorry are we talking about the same Shiro here?” Lotor furrowed his eyebrows “Because Sven you look almost identical-” 

 

“To his exact opposite!” Lance jumped in, elbowing Lotor “You look identical to Shiro’s exact opposite. You two look nothing alike. At all”

 

“After we split up, I realized I needed change” Curtis shrugged “Shiro and I were high school sweethearts gone wrong. We loved each other, but we never gave ourselves a chance to grow. I had no clue who I was without Shiro, and he didn’t know who he was without me. We jumped straight into marriage after graduation without even considering whether either of us even wanted to be together”

 

 

  * __And finally, Ella shoved Kieran into the mud and now he was covered from head to toe__



 

 

“There is no way you’re sitting in my car like that” Lance said.

 

“I have a rag you could wrap him in” Sawyer offered.

 

Kieran grinned. “I’ll look like a burrito!”

 

That all led to Lance’s current situation of being grilled by Adam. The second he’d arrived at Adam and Shiro’s with everyone—minus the kids, he’d dropped them off at his mom’s, like he was supposed to hours ago—in tow, he’d been face-to-face with a livid Adam. Keith had been there already too and looked endlessly amused at Lance’s expense. 

 

Now, Lance was totally not listening, but he got the gist of it. Adam was obviously mad. He just didn’t get why.

 

“Why are you upset with me again?” Lance interrupted his brother.

 

“I-” Adam blinked “Lance have you not been listening to a word I’ve said?”

 

“Pretty much”

 

Adam groaned. “You are the most infuriating person I know. I’m mad because I had a reservation to go to with Shiro, Curtis and Sven, that we _missed_ because you decided to go off gallivanting at some farm”

 

“It was a ranch, actually” Lotor pointed out.

 

Adam glared at him.”Do I _look_ like I care?”

 

Lance winced. “I’ll pay you back for the reservation. Sorry about gallivanting, it won’t happen again”

 

Adam looked pleased so Lance counted that as a win. 

 

“Sven and I can set another reservation for tomorrow instead” Curtis offered “We’re here for the entire week anyway”

 

“Thank you, that would be nice,” Adam said.

 

“We should go check into our hotel soon,” Sven said as he looked down at his watch.

 

“I’ll call you with the reservation time later, and then we can discuss the divorce papers more. Sound good?” Curtis asked.

 

“Sounds great” Shiro confirmed, walking the couple to the door. The second they left, he whipped around with a look on his face. 

 

Adam blinked. “Babe, why are you making that face?”

 

Keith wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, and can you stop making it?”

 

“Oh come on,” Shiro groaned “Don’t tell me you guys don’t see it too?”

 

Lance immediately knew where the conversation was going.

 

“See what?” Adam asked.

 

“He looks exactly like me!”

 

“Who?” Keith tilted his head. Lance could tell he was holding back a grin. So that was the route they were taking, huh?

 

“Sven,” Shiro raised his eyebrows “We look identical”

 

“Apparently not as identical as you think” Lotor muttered.

 

“Are you all serious right now?” Shiro exclaimed “Sven and I could literally be twins”

 

“Gassing yourself up there, aren’t you?” Lance snorted “Sven looks like a god”

 

“Are you saying you look like a god Shiro?” Keith smirked “That’s awfully vain of you”

 

“What? _No_ —I’m just saying that he and I happen to have a lot of similarities and I—y’know what, forget it. I’m going to get a drink, preferably something alcoholic” Shiro looked to be in a deep state of distress as he left the room.

 

It was silent for a moment until Adam spoke. “You guys were just messing with him too, right?”

 

Lance vigorously nodded. “Oh, yeah”

 

“It’s kinda scary how similar they look” Keith frowned.

 

“Someone has a type” Lotor snorted.

 

“And honestly, I can’t blame him for that. If I lost Shiro I’d try and find someone who looked like him too” Adam said.

 

*

 

*

 

“God, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever” Lance groaned, wrapping his arms around Hunk.

 

He grinned, hugging back just as hard. “I know right?”

 

“You guys just saw each other a few days ago” Allura furrowed her eyebrows. 

 

“And that’s a few days too long to go without seeing the absolute light of my life” Lance solemnly said. Hunk eagerly nodded in agreement.

 

Romelle tilted her head. “Sometimes I think it should be those two getting married instead of us” 

 

“We considered it” Lance admitted.

 

“The logistics just didn’t work out” Hunk added.

 

“Let’s just go wedding dress shopping already,” Allura said. 

 

Lance was excited because wedding dress shopping seemed fun. There were so many choices, each one better than the last. There was a style, colour and shape for every single bride. 

 

Pidge had also been invited to tag along, but she’d opted out, which didn’t surprise anyone. Adam, on the other hand, hadn’t been invited, because if anyone was going to become a bridezilla, it was him.

 

It was up to Lance and Hunk to ensure the two brides got the perfect dress, so really it was like the entire wedding rested on their shoulders. But Lance was totally prepared. He had a vision.

 

For Allura, they needed something extravagant. Something regal and princess-like. For Romelle, they needed a more simplistic style, but it still needed to have a certain romantic flair to it.

 

Hunk had closed the cafe down for the day, that way everyone’s attention would one hundred percent on Allura and Romelle’s wedding. Keith was with the twins for the day, Christmas present shopping. 

 

Speaking of Keith, Lance had noticed that he’d been acting...different lately? It was like he always had something on the tip of his tongue but he could never quite bring himself to say it. He was always drifting off, always seemed slightly distracted and always had this looming cloud of negativity over him. Keith was able to control it more around the twins, but sometimes when it was just the two of them, he and Lance would argue. And it wasn’t the same fun back and forth they’d always had together, it was mean-spirited words thrown with intent.

 

And for Lance, that just wouldn't do. 

 

But for now, he could push back his relationship issues to the back of his mind, because today wasn’t about him, it was about Allura and Romelle.

 

“Do you guys have any ideas in mind for what you want?” Hunk asked.

 

“Not really” Romelle shrugged “My theory is that if I put something on, I’ll know which one is the right one. I’ll get this feeling, I know it”

 

“That’s sweet” Hunk smiled.

 

“And such an amateur thing to say,” Allura said “I, on the other hand, already have eight specific pieces picked out. I plan to narrow it down to two, one for the ceremony, one for the reception. I'm only getting the ceremony dress today”

 

Lance grinned. “Now you’re talking!”

 

“I think I’m just gonna stick to one dress, so I’ll need to keep it a little more simple,” Romelle said.

 

Lance blinked. “You’re gonna wear the same thing the entire night?”

 

“That’s exactly what I said!” Allura exclaimed.

 

“I think Romelle’s right. Keep it sweet and simple” Hunk said.

 

“Care to make a wager?” Allura continued on after seeing everyone’s intrigued looks “Lance and I versus Hunk and Romelle. Whoever can find their dream dress, or in my case—dresses, first, wins”

 

“What’re the stakes?” Romelle asked.

 

Allura had a gleam in her eye. Lance didn’t trust it one bit. “Winner gets to eat lunch for free today, the loser has to tell Adam that we went dress shopping without him”

 

“You’re on, babe” Romelle smirked.

 

*

 

*

 

Keith was kind of freaking out. 

 

No, he was definitely freaking out.

 

Watching Ella and Kieran pick out knick-knacks to buy for Lance and everyone else was bittersweet for him. The twins were so excited for Christmas and he...wasn’t going to be there to see it.

 

He had a one-way ticket to Spain, paid by none other than Krolia, his estranged mother. Or, formerly estranged mother. 

 

The call with her had been an experience, to say the least. They’d caught up with each other briefly, but she explained that due to her job, she didn’t have much free time, so they’d have to postpone the real catching up for later. And then she dropped the real bomb—she wanted to fly him out to her new place in Spain. The first-class ticket was already purchased and all expenses would be paid for. 

 

When she asked if he was going to take her up on her offer, he hadn’t even hesitated to say yes. And now he was kind of regretting that lack of hesitation.

 

How in the world was he going to explain this to his brother? To Adam? To Lance? To the twins?

 

The plane ride was set for December 23, the day before he was supposed to go with Lance to celebrate with his family and two days before Christmas. 

 

He didn’t know what to do; his heart and his mind were at odds. Rationally, he knew that what he was doing was selfish. He was leaving in less than a week and he had no clue when he’d get back. But deep down, a part of him didn’t care that he was being unfair. That part of him was telling him to forget everything else because meeting his mom was the one thing he’d dreamt of his entire life.

 

He could still picture all those nights, way before Shiro’s family adopted him, jumping from foster home to foster home. Keith had always found it difficult to fall asleep in those strange new places, so a big chunk of that time was spent imagining what it would be like to see his mom. He always wondered what his life would’ve been like if she hadn’t left, and his dad hadn’t died. The ‘what if’s’ still killed him. 

 

And now he couldn’t help but think of what a younger Keith would’ve given, all he would’ve done just to have this chance. This was literally all he wanted at one point in time, and now that he had the option, wasn’t it selfish of him to not take it?

 

“I want to get this for Crystal” Ella’s voice broke him out his spiral. The girl in question was holding up a small stuffed turtle.

 

Kieran looked amused. “I thought you hated her”

 

“I do,” she nodded “It’s a snapping turtle”

 

Keith held back a laugh. “Alright, toss it in the cart I guess”

 

“How are you even going to give it to her genius? You won’t see her again until January” Kieran smugly pointed out.

 

“Keith will take me to her house the day after Christmas,” Ella looked at him with big doe eyes “Right Keith?

 

“Of course I will” Keith’s jaw clenched slightly. She looked satisfied and dropped the toy into the cart before heading towards the scented candles with Kieran.

 

Lying, Keith found, had never been this hard before.

 

*

 

*

 

Surprisingly, everyone ended up paying for their own lunches. 

 

Lance had the utmost confidence in him and Allura winning. The two of them had the same vision and it wouldn’t take them long at all to find the right dress. He just hadn’t counted on Hunk and Romelle finding their dress just as quickly.

 

For people who went in with absolutely zero clue of what they were looking for, Hunk and Romelle sure did an amazing job of finding the perfect dress. 

 

Hunk and Lance were the only ones who got to see both girls in their dresses; Allura and Romelle wanted to keep it a surprise until the wedding.

 

Allura's [dress](https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/862087553645297598/) was just as extravagant and elegant as she was. It clung to her frame until her mid-calf where it started to billow out. She had chosen to forgo the veil and instead wore a sheer cape and a metal headpiece making her look every bit a princess.

 

Romelle’s [dress](https://images.app.goo.gl/SFTwywBXtQF6CpKG7) provided just the right balance. Her’s was just as beautiful, but more subtle. The lace dress fell from her waist down. Coincidentally, she’d also chosen a headpiece instead of a veil. 

 

The two girls looked ethereal together, separated only by a simple divider to keep them hidden from one another. To Lance, they looked like royalty. If you’d have told him they were actually aliens from another planet, he wouldn’t hesitate to believe you.

 

By the end of it, Hunk was in tears and Lance wasn’t very far behind. 

 

The four of them got lunch at a quaint restaurant and were having a good time up until darkness fell upon them. The temperature in the room dropped and Lance felt his heart race in anticipation and fear. A devil was coming.

 

“How dare you guys?” Adam looked appalled “You went dress shopping without me?”

 

“How did you find us?” Lance asked. He was the only one out of the four of them who didn’t look at least a little sheepish at being caught red-handed by Adam.

 

He rolled his eyes. “I got suspicious so I asked Pidge to tap into your phones and send me your location. Imagine my surprise when I see all four of you in a bridal boutique. The sheer audacity”

 

“Would you like to see pictures of my dress?” Romelle asked.

 

“Well, obviously! Allura’s too”

 

While his brother giddily swiped through the pictures, Lance pulled out some of the wedding invitation ideas. They had three different card templates to choose from and Adam’s input would help.

 

_You are formally invited to the wedding of Allura & Romelle  _

_Please join us on XX/XX/XXXX_

_RSVP: I will be attending y/n_

 

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed. “Your name?”

 

Lance wanted to smack himself. “No, Adam. It means yes or no, stop reading so much fanfiction”

 

Adam pulled out his phone and started messaging someone. Lance got curious.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Texting mama and telling her to post a picture of me on Facebook,” Adam said without looking up.

 

Lance blinked. “Why?”

 

“I need a self-esteem boost”

 

“You’re wonderful and cute,” Hunk said. Adam cooed.

 

“Thank you Hunk. You’re precious” 

 

Lance’s phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Keith letting him know that he and the twins were home. That was his cue to get out of here.

 

Tonight was kind of important. Tonight over dinner, Lance was finally going to tell Keith he loved him, and absolutely nothing could ruin it.

 

*

 

*

 

“So besides the part where Adam crashed the party, how did today go?” Keith asked, lifting his glass and taking a sip.

 

“Super fun!” Lance grinned “Allura and Romelle both looked amazing in their dresses”

 

He smiled distractedly. “That’s great”

 

Lance frowned slightly. He glanced over at the twins who were sitting on the couch and watching TV after eating dinner with them. He turned back to Keith and his frown vanished. Keith looked beautiful in this lighting.

 

“So I wanted to tell you something” Lance started “It’s not that big of a deal really, but I just want to say it to make it official, y’know?”

 

Keith looked startled. 

 

“Keith, I lo-”

 

“Lance,” Keith softly interrupted “Don’t” 

 

Lance stiffened. “What?”

 

“Don’t say it, please” He looked down “You’ll regret it”

 

“Why would I ever regret it, Keith? I love-”

 

“I’m leaving” Keith blurted. Lance felt his stomach drop.

 

“That’s not funny Keith”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier” He sighed.

 

Lance closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them once his mind was clear. “Kids, I need you to go to your room”

 

Whatever was about to happen, Lance didn’t want them to see any part of it. It wasn’t fair to them.

 

“But Dad,” Ella pouted. Normally Lance would laugh fondly at that, but right now all he needed was to make sure his kids weren’t caught in the crossfire of whatever was about to go down.

 

 _“Now,_ Ella,” He said firmly “You too Kieran”

 

The twins knew when he was being serious so they got up without another word and went to their rooms. Lance waited until he heard both of their doors close before turning his attention back to Keith.

 

“What do you mean you’re leaving?”

 

“My mom called the other day” He admitted.

 

“Your biological mom?” Lance’s jaw dropped.

 

He nodded. “And she wants to catch up. In Spain, where she apparently lives now. The ticket’s for the twenty-third. I don’t know when I’ll be back” The _‘if I come back’_ was loud and clear.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Keith? We could’ve figured this out together. I could’ve helped you book a trip to Spain in the new year. You can’t just do _this”_ Lance felt his eyes burn.

 

“It’s what’s best for everyone”

 

“That’s bullshit and you know it” Lance snapped “In what world is this best for anyone? You can’t just abandon the kids and I like this, especially not right before Christmas. You were supposed to visit my family, Keith”

 

“God, I’m not abandoning you, Lance, it’s not about you. It’s about my biological mom finally reaching out to me. Do you know how big this is?” Keith ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

 

“I understand that, and I’m happy for you Keith, truly. I know how much this means to you. And if you would’ve just told me about this earlier we could’ve figured it out together. I would have supported you every step of the way”

 

“What, so you’re not gonna support me now?”

 

Lance shook his head. “I can’t Keith. You know I can’t”

 

“It’s not forever” He defended “I’m not moving to Spain”

 

“But do you know when you’ll be back?” Lance already knew the answer.

 

“Why can’t we just, I don’t know, go with the flow? Take it day by day?” Keith pleaded.

 

“If I didn’t have the kids, sure. Hell, I’d go with you. But that’s not my reality Keith, I can’t be wanderlust. Kids need stability, they need consistency. I can’t do that to them, and I can’t let you do it to them either”

 

“So that’s it, huh? That’s what happens to us?” Keith looked exhausted “We just, call it off?”

 

“What else can we do? I just—I don’t think this is a good decision Keith” Lance accidentally stumbled over his words.

 

“Oh, and you’d know all about good decisions” Keith’s voice was dripping with venom “You were a single dad at nineteen Lance, I really don’t think you’re in any position to be telling me to think things through before I make a mistake”

 

“Keith—” He faltered. Lance understood that he was hurting, he didn’t want to have to give Keith the ultimatum, but what choice did he have? Ella and Kieran couldn’t continue to have Keith be such a big part of their lives if he wasn’t going to be reliable. Lance would rather die than watch his kids stay up all night waiting for Keith to _maybe_ come home. 

 

Keith’s gaze hardened. Lance dreaded whatever he was going to say next. “Just because your kids don’t get to meet their mom doesn’t mean I don’t get to meet mine”

 

They both froze, chests rising and falling as his words sunk in. Keith looked immediately horrified with himself and Lance could’ve sworn he heard his own heart shatter. This is not how he wanted tonight to go. 

 

“Get out”

 

“Oh my god—Lance, I shouldn’t have said that—”

 

Lance was both pleading yet firm.“I need you to leave, right now”

 

The feeling he experienced was disorienting, to say the least. He needed space yet the absolute last place he wanted to be right now was away from Keith. He needed to breathe but Keith was the breath of fresh air in his lungs. He was angry but Keith knew how to keep him grounded. He was hurting but the only thing that could make him feel better was Keith.

 

Everything began and ended with Keith; both a solution and a problem. His brain wanted nothing to do with Keith, his heart wanted everything. 

 

All Lance knew was that he needed Keith to get away so he could think clearly.

 

Keith’s voice broke. “I'm _so_ sorry”

 

“All I wanted was to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt because I care about you, Ella and Kieran care about you. But all you seem to want to do is leave us,” Lance felt his eyes burn “So go Keith, do whatever you want. Clearly, we were never that much of a priority to you, not like you were to us”

 

“No Lance, I swear—you guys are the most important things in my life” He sounded borderline desperate.

 

“Keith, _please,_ just go” Because Lance knew if he didn’t leave right now, he’d end up forgiving Keith. And that wasn’t an option, not right now. Not when he had the kids to think about. 

 

“I’m sorry”

 

“Then tell me right now, look me in the eyes and say you won’t go” Lance, against his better judgement, attempted to give him an out. With one phrase, all of this could be over and they could go back to normal. 

 

 _Just tell me,_ Lance thought, _tell me you’ll stay._

 

“I-I can’t” Keith looked away in shame. Lance took a deep breath, held it in, let it go. He knew the answer long before he heard Keith say it. The moment Keith said he was going to go, Lance knew there was no changing his mind. Everything he did was in vain because deep down he already knew how this fight was going to end.

 

Lance slowly made his way to the front door and opened it. “Goodbye, Keith”

 

Keith understood the gesture and walked out. He took a few steps before looking back over his shoulder. “I love you. I wish things could be different. I’m sorry”

 

Lance closed the door before Keith could see the tear slip down his face.

 

*

 

*

 

After leaving, Keith wanted to do nothing but wallow in his sorrows. It was safe to say things didn’t exactly go the way he expected. He wasn’t really sure what he’d expected.

 

Keith was conflicted. He meant it when he said that Lance and the twins were the most important things in his life. But a chance to meet his mom? That was something he’d dreamt of since he was old enough to understand that everyone had a mother and that his had chosen to leave him. It wasn’t every day your estranged mother wanted to meet you.

 

They were the most important things in his life. But maybe that’s where Keith went wrong. Because they weren’t things. They were people, with real, valid feelings. People who couldn’t just be things Keith returned to after abandoning. Keith had no right to up and leave, not without a fair warning and not without consulting with everyone. 

 

For a long time, Keith was a lone wolf. But that just wasn’t the case anymore and he had to change his mindset. His decisions affected them, just as theirs affected him. 

 

The idea of meeting his mother was tantalizing, to say the least. But was it worth sacrificing the best part of his life?

 

He...wasn’t sure.

 

“What’s up Keith?” Pidge asked. Keith didn’t remember pulling out his phone or dialling, but he was glad he did. 

 

“Do you regret never giving up on searching for your dad?” The words tumbled out without warning “Did you ever miss out on things you wish you hadn’t? Did you lose things—people, that could’ve been avoided if you would’ve just stopped?”

 

The line was quiet for a moment. Keith assumed she was putting her thoughts together.

 

“Sometimes,” She started “I wish that I would’ve slowed down. I don’t regret looking for him, especially because we got him back, but I do wish I wouldn’t have let it dictate my life so much. I was on a one-track mind for so long and that wasn’t healthy. It put a strain not only on me but on the people around me”

 

“But you don’t regret searching for him?”

 

“No. How could I? He was my dad, the one who taught me all I know, who raised me and loved me selflessly. If it were the other way around he’d search to the ends of the universe for me” Pidge explained.

 

Keith told her everything, from his mom to his fight with Lance. She listened, never interrupting.

 

“You want my honest opinion?” She finally said.

 

“Please”

 

“It seems to me that you’re the only one willing to put in the effort. Why can’t she come here?” 

 

Keith froze for a moment. “Well, uh, she's busy with her job and-”

 

“So she can’t uproot her life for you, but she expects you to do it for her?” Pidge cuts him off before he can make up more excuses for her. He doesn’t know whether he’s thankful for that or not. “She’s the one who abandoned you Keith, not the other way around. Don’t let her guilt you into doing all the work. She made her choice a long time ago and it’s not up to you to fix it”

 

It was hard to hear, of course. But he needed to hear it. He needed an unbiased third-party opinion and Pidge gave him just that. What his mom—what _Krolia_ was asking of him wasn’t fair. He’d just been so blinded by the idea of finally reuniting with her to notice.

 

Pidge went to the ends of the Earth to find her father after her family got the call that he was missing. She never gave up, and it was a huge part of her life for a long time. Keith remembered Lance explaining how sometimes he, Hunk and Romelle used to have to pry her away from the computer and force her to rest. Pidge gave it her all, because she thought she owed it to her dad. Keith didn’t owe his mom anything.

 

At the end of the day, Keith wasn’t that lonely little boy who just wanted a family anymore. He had that family now. He had it with Shiro, Lance, Ella, Kieran, Pidge, Romelle, Allura, Hunk, Shay and— _ugh_ —even Adam. Sure, it’d be nice to be able to reconnect with his mom, but the fact of the matter was, he didn’t _need_ to anymore. 

 

So if Krolia came to him, he’d give their relationship a try, but until then he was perfectly fine just the way things were.

 

What he _did_ need, however, was to fix things with Lance. And he knew just how to do it.

 

“Pidge, I need your help with something”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep the entire thing as lighthearted as possible but I did what had to be done lmaoo. also, sorry this one's a bit shorter than usual I thing the angst made me struggle. xx

**Author's Note:**

> things to note:  
> romelle is one year older than lance and hunk, but she was in the same grade as them due to missing a lot of school when her brother died  
> adam met shiro after lance asked him to pick up the kids. they've been dating for around 3-4 months  
> adam used to work at the cafe, but now he works at some tech company  
> allura met everyone through adam because they were in the same university classes  
> lance's dad died when he was really young  
> pidge is one year younger than lance and hunk, she skipped a grade  
> aliana and her family are colombian  
> if you want a reference to aliana.....I based her off paulina sanchez from danny phantom (I really did that huh?)
> 
> goddamn my end notes might be longer than the entire chapter im-  
> honestly mad respect if you made it all the way, see ya next chapter (which hopefully shouldn't take too long) :)


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